action:article | category:NEWS07 | adString:NEWS07 | zoneID:67

Home » News » Public Safety

July 14. 2012 10:26PM

Neighbor says rocks from Rumney quarry blast hit shed, house


Dean Kenneson of Rumney holds a 40-pound rock that tore through his shed on Groton Hollow Road. (Paula Tracy/Union Leader)
RUMNEY — State police are investigating an incident July 3 in which a shed and a house on Groton Hollow Road were struck by rocks allegedly blasted from a nearby gravel pit.

Dean Kenneson of 22 Groton Hollow Road was home when a 40-pound rock sailed through his shed and punched a 2-foot hole in the ground, he said. The rock landed 19 feet from the road.

He contends it was among a burst of rocks that soared hundreds of feet through the air from Central NH Aggregates, a quarry on Route 25.

As a neighbor pulled up to Kenneson’s property on the day of the mishap, Kenneson was holding another rock found on his property, this one the size of a fist.

“It’s crazy,’’ said Brad Shanks. “How’d you like to be standing under that.”

Although no one was injured, Kenneson called 9-1-1, and now the explosives permitting division of the New Hampshire State Police is looking into what happened.

The gravel pit, along Route 25, is owned by M.E. Latulippe, who declined comment, citing the investigation.

Doug and Gail Sanborn’s home, across the street from Kenneson’s, was hit with a rock, which went through the roof and into the basement, according to Kenneson. There were other rocks strewn about the Sanborns’ yard, he said. The Sanborns also declined to speak to a reporter.

State police Sgt. Sean Haggerty is in charge of the investigation. He said typically such incidents do not result in criminal charges, but may relate to the licensing of the contractor. There is often a hearing after an investigation, Haggerty said.

The company that’s constructing a wind farm nearby is a customer of Central NH Aggregates. Jan Johnson, communications director for Iberdrola Renewables, developer of Groton Wind Farm, said: “We have heard about blasting complaints, but we understand that they relate to activities conducted by Central NH Aggregates, a nearby quarry that is not owned or operated by Iberdrola.

“It is a separate business. We purchase some materials from them, as do their other customers. Groton Wind will cooperate fully with any investigations into the blasting complaints, but to our knowledge, they do not concern activities occurring at the Groton Wind site.”

Both Kennson and Shanks said their narrow dirt road, on which about 15 houses sit along a 2.5-mile strip, used to be a quiet area. Now it is an access road for vehicles and equipment used in the construction of the Groton Wind Farm. (See related story.)

“It’s been kind of a nightmare,” Kenneson said.

The two neighbors say the project has turned the road into a stretch on which trucks routinely travel fast to and from the construction zone.

- - - - - - - -


Paula Tracy may be reached at ptracy@unionleader.com.

Follow us:
Twitter icon Facebook icon RSS icon
Sorry, no question available

 New Hampshire Business Directory

  

   » ADD YOUR BUSINESS TODAY!

 New Hampshire Events Calendar
    

   » SHARE EVENTS FOR PUBLICATION, IT'S FREE!

Upcoming Events