HOPKINTON, N.H. (AP) -A fire that destroyed a senior center under construction appears to be arson, investigators said.
The fire started before 11 p.m. Monday.
Eugene and Anne Slusser donated $1 million to fund the construction after Hopkinton voters rejected a town-funded center. The two-story building was still being framed, and the center was set to open in the spring.
Investigators said the fire was intentionally set. An arson-detection K-9 found two points of origin and evidence that some sort of petroleum-based product ignited the fire.
The project has been criticized by some in the town. On a trailer a few yards from the site was a spray-painted message that said, “Not on my tax dollar.”
“They’re wrong. There have been no taxes,” Selectman Don Lane said.
Officials said that they plan to rebuild.
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Information from: WMUR-TV, http://www.thewmurchannel.com/index.html
AP-ES-01-16-07 1913EST
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