The Attorney General’s Office has concluded its investigation into the allegations made against Weare Police Chief John Vellecca by his secretary Jennifer Posteraro. Here’s what the A G said in the conclusory paragraphs: Quote:
Valleca: Resigned after AG said no charges will be filed
“Jennifer Posteraro made allegations of assault against Weare Chief of Police John Velleca to the Hillsboro Police and in her sworn Petition in support of a Domestic Violence Temporary Order. Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office interviewed numerous witnesses and obtained relevant text messages, emails, voice mails and photographs. Based on this investigation, there is insufficient evidence to support a charge against Velleca for Simple Assault, namely due to concerns regarding Posteraro’s credibility given her subsequent statements essentially denying that an assault took place on September 11th.
“These credibility concerns likewise weigh heavily against bringing a charge for Velleca’s alleged conduct on July 24th. Even though his motive may have been to conceal evidence of his affair with Posteraro, with respect to Velleca’s actions surrounding the “wiping” of her cell phone, there is also insufficient evidence to support a charge of Falsifying Physical Evidence.”
Despite the findings of the report, Vallecca announced his resignation yesterday saying he was proud of the work he did to revitalize the department and was deeply ashamed of his behavior and sorry for the hurt he’d caused his family. We’ve posted the report, which is actually a really interesting short story read, with this newscast at Girard at Large so you can take a look.
Green: One for the good guys!
Timberlane Regional School District Superintendent Earl Megalo Metzler has coughed up information requested by School Board Member Donna Green despite the school board’s vote against her request at its meeting last week. Green had asked for staff salaries and the merit raises they were granted. As with most things she asks for, information that probably should be posted as a matter of course on their Web site, the information was denied because, one, the board allegedly has no authority over S A U salaries, (yup, they said that for real) and two, S A U employees get merit raises and publicly disclosing their salaries would expose each individual’s merit raise,( yup, they said it for real again). What planet do these guys come from? Anyway, after receiving a N H legal case determining that teacher salaries are a matter of public record, duh, Metzler posted the salaries on the district’s Web site. According to Green, Metzler is now also sending monthly expenditure reports to the Budget Committee even though the School Board refused, after her request , to receive the budget information itself. We’ve linked to Green’s blog on the matter for all the details. At some point, one has to wonder just when the rest of the elected folks on the boards in that district will understand their responsibilities as elected officials.
Bedford announces Trick or Treat
The town of Bedford has announced that Trick or Treating will be on Friday, October 31st from 6:00 – 8:00 P M. The Bedford Police Department has posted Trick or Treat safety tips on its Web site and we’ve dutifully linked to them from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Got drugs? State now has registry that will collect and hold ALL of your Rx information.
Rejoice! Two years after passage, the state of New Hampshire is now recording information on all prescriptions issued in the state. That’s right, boys and girls, if your doctor gives you a prescription for anything, the state’s going to not only receive it, but keep it on file indefinitely. We’ll see how long it takes for that database to get hacked. Anyway, Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley Republican from Wolfeboro and District Seventeen Senator John Reagan Republican from Deerfield, applauded the start of the prescription drug monitoring program. Said Bradley, quote: “At the time I sponsored this legislation there were more deaths from prescription drug abuse than car accidents in New Hampshire…This program provides a solution to a very real problem faced by law enforcement and doctors alike”. End quote. Reagan, then a State Rep, who co-sponsored the legislation said quote: “This simple concept of allowing doctors and pharmacists to communicate with each other in a way that protects private information is a game changer to prevent drug abusers from going doctor to doctor to receive excess amounts of prescription drugs. This effectively ends what’s known as doctor shopping and will help save lives.” Editorial note: If they limited the registry to those drugs or categories of drugs known to be addictive and or involved in the drug trade, that’d be one thing. However, they made it so that it covers every prescription and that, folks, is simply unnecessary and invasive. (There were 133 deaths from 122 accidents in 2013. This is a reason for EVERY prescription to be on file with the govt.?)
Shaheen: Travel ban doesn’t “make sense.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen and President Obama continue to oppose an Ebola travel ban, but such a temporary measure is needed to keep Americans safe from unnecessary risk of exposure to the deadly virus. The chairman of the House subcommittee that will be holding a high-profile hearing on the Ebola crisis today on Capitol Hill said that C D C Director Dr. Tom Frieden, the man who banned the Big Gulp in New York City, told him that the administration fears a travel ban from affected countries would hurt fragile West African economies. Not kidding. Frieden and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci will testify today at the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, along with officials from the F D A, Health and Human Services and Department of Homeland Security. The White House confirmed yesterday that a travel ban is not on the table, saying that the reason is to ensure an unimpeded flow of supplies and personnel into the region to battle the disease. Yesterday, Shaheen told New England Cable News in an interview quote: “I don’t think at this stage that a travel ban makes sense.” That remark drew fire from N H G O P Chair Jennifer Horn who said it is exactly at this time that a ban makes sense. Quote “Senator Shaheen and President Obama are wrong to oppose a travel ban from countries afflicted by the Ebola virus. Many African countries have successfully imposed a ban to stop the spread of Ebola, and we must do the same. What is happening in Texas started with one infected patient who came here from Liberia. It’s time for Jeanne Shaheen and President Obama to impose Ebola travel restrictions to keep Americans safe from disease.”
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
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