School Board Contest
At Randolph Town Meeting
By M. D. Drysdale
Randolph will elect one new elementary school board member, a new selectboard member, and a new lister at Town Meeting on March 6.

Only one position will be contested, however.

Monday was the final day for candidates to file election petitions for their names to be printed on the Australian ballot.

Selectman Tom Schersten is stepping down after serving one two-year term, finding that his mathematics consulting business is carrying him away from town business more frequently than he hoped.

The only candidate for his two-year term is Ken Goss.

Goss and his wife Jeanne moved to Randolph just four years ago but have immersed themselves in local activities ever since, including being in charge of setting up the downtown Christmas lights. He was the town Santa Claus, too.

Goss had his own business on Long Island for almost 30 years, specializing in aerial photography for precision mapping. He and Jeanne built a log home on Fish Hill and have been attending selectboard meetings regularly for the last two years.

"It's been fascinating," he said. "I've been struck by how nice it is. People actually are given a say."

Larry Townsend is running unopposed to succeed himself in a three-year term on the selectboard.

Gary Tallman is stepping down from the elementary achool board after several years. Brooke Dingledine, whose two-year term expires this year, has filed to fill Tallman's three-year term on the board.

Two local men will be on the ballot for Dingledine's seat. They are Wally Caswell and Justin Johnson. This will be the only contest on the ballot this year.

Linda Minsinger is running unopposed to succeed herself as a Randolph representative on the Randolph Union High School board.

The new lister will apparently be former realtor Polly Frankenburg, who is the only candidate on the ballot to succeed Grace Wiggett, who is retiring from the three-year position.

No Surprise Petitions

The date for petitioning for special articles at Town Meeting has also come and gone, and Town Clerk Joyce Mazzucco said the only petitions were from organizations hoping for appropriations from the town.

Those organizations were all on the ballot last year, too, she said.

Petitions had been circulating, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, to ask the Town to vote $2000 in support of the annual Fourth of July Parade, but Mazzucco said those petitions were never filed in her office.

The Chamber's executive director, Lynn Irish, said the petitions had not collected enough signatures by Thursday.

"We're reviewing our options," she said.

The Chamber had said that the requirement for numerous law enforcement officials has made the parade more expensive.