ATKINSON | No thunderstorms and little humidity prompted some senior citizens at Settler's Ridge to open their windows last week. But instead of fresh air, the breeze blew smoke into their apartments.

That's because the Highway Department started burning brush again this summer at the recycling center next door on Pope Road. Last year, brush was chipped because of residents' complaints, but road agent Ted Stewart said he went back to the old way this season because it's cheaper and safer.

"We have a permit to burn," he said. "We ran out of money (for renting a chipper) the first year, and the second year I asked not to do it."

Regardless of who agreed to take the money out of this year's budget, selectmen are now saying it has to be put back. They asked Sawyer to research the cost of renting a chipper and for having the brush hauled off.

Sawyer said he still thinks burning is better.

It takes two or three men two days a week to sort and chip what's at the dump, Sawyer said. Burning takes just five or six hours a week, and it's usually done after 5 p.m., he said.

The brush dump is next to Field 4 at Woodlock Park, where there's a lot of activity in the evenings.

Selectman Bill Friel said he's been at Little League games and had a tough time.

"You're choking on the smoke," he said.

Friel wanted to know if it was possible to move the dump, but officials said the town has been through this issue before and it's just too costly. It's been on Pope Road since 1974.

The state Department of Environmental Services went to the dump yesterday to follow up on complaints received from neighboring condo owners, according to Pam Monroe, administrator of the department's Air Resources Division. She plans to send a letter to the town, asking them to notify DES the next time they burn so someone from DES can observe.

"They are required to minimize smoke," Monroe said. "They can't cause a nuisance."

DES will work with the Highway Department to determine what practices could reduce the smoky situation, including making the fire hotter or creating a fire pit, she said.

Residents at Settler's Ridge also want some notice. Sixteen of them sent a letter to police Chief Philip Consentino, asking the town to post on TV when burning will take place. It's especially important for the seniors who are on oxygen, Consentino said.

It's more likely that those residents are smelling smoke than being inundated with it, according to Sawyer.

"To me, I'm a fireman and go to elderly (homes) when they burn toast," he said. "The idea that smoke from the brush dump is going into the units and not setting off (smoke) detectors, I feel is hard to believe."