The censure of outspoken School Board Member John Lyscars has caused something of an uproar in the town of Hooksett, particularly among those familiar with the rules of the board. School Board Vice Chair David Pearl, who was not at the meeting due to a scheduling conflict, has confirmed that the school board once again violated its own policies in pursuit of a predetermined goal. Board policy B E B sates, and I quote: Only business which is stated in the notice shall be transacted at the meeting. Exceptions to this procedure would be in cases of emergency as determined by the Chairperson and/or the Superintendent. In such case of emergency, all members will be contacted by phone. What that means is that the motion to censure Lyscars over his quote unquote peculiar behavior was made in violation of board policy as it was not only not an agenda item, it wasn’t discussed at the February tenth meeting of the board where the agenda was determined. Both Lyscars and Pearl have questioned whether or not the censure is legitimate given the board, once again, violated the rules. The board did vote to suspend its rules at the very beginning of the meeting, but only to accept the district’s manifest, which wasn’t done the night before as the meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather. They also, in violation of their rules, discussed rescheduling the missed meeting in the absence of Pearl and Lyscars. They ultimately decided to start their next regularly scheduled meeting earlier than normal to catch up on agenda items. Pearl, by the way, left the meeting of the S A U fifteen school board after they refused to hire an attorney to deal with the fearful workplace statements made by Superintendent Charles Littlefield.
The controversy over the paid administrative staff helping to solicit participants and sell tickets for the big shindig being thrown by the family of retiring Goffstown Selectman Phil D’Avanza made its way into the candidate’s night sponsored by the Goffstown Lion’s Club last night. Goffstown today dot com publisher Bill Wynne asked candidates whether or not they would honor the town’s code of conduct and the answer by selectman candidate Peter Georgantas caught his attention. According to Wynne, while Georgantas said he’d honor the code, he also said Georgantas was clear that he would make exceptions and that it was more important to support a private party than to stop the taking of municipal services at the taxpayers expense, which Wynne contends is a clear violation of the town’s code of conduct. We’ve linked to a story recently published on Goffstown Today dot com which delves into the controversy.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
As predicted here last week, retired Central High School Principal John Rist has been appointed interim principal of the Little Green. Rist takes the helm immediately as Principal Ron Mailhot, who was placed on administrative leave , hasn’t been in the building since February seventh. Mailhot will be on leave until March first. The district’s press release was all full of warm and fuzzy rah rah stuff, but short on relevant details, like how much Rist will be paid. During his stint as Interim Principal at West, he was paid nearly three thousand dollars a week. Whatever he gets paid, he’ll retain the position until a permanent replacement is hired. Starting salary there will be just about one hundred and five thousand dollars.
Manchester Police announced a major round up of street level drug dealers yesterday. Operation Clean Sweep pulled twenty seven drug dealing dirt bags off the street, with three more expected to turn themselves in. While the cops targeted heroine dealers, they also nabbed coke, crack, prescription drugs and more in the raid that hit neighborhoods across the city, featuring more than eight arrest teams, which included state and federal officers as well. We’ve uploaded the release with all the identities of the arrested here. EDITOR’S NOTE: Three additional people were arrested since the press release sent out yesterday. They are: Edward Roy Currier, 39 – 3 counts Sale of a Controlled Drug; Zaran Johnson, 23 – 3 counts of Sale of a Controlled Drug; Brendan Vigneault, 31 – 1 count Sale of a Controlled Drug, 1 Count Possession of an Infernal Device (Bomb). Click here for mug shots of the arrested.
Police in Bow have issued a scam alert. They’ve fielded complaints from business owners stating they’d received phone calls from utility companies threatening a shut off if payment isn’t received in a matter of hours. Cops say not to bite on the scam. Your best bet if you get one of these calls is to hang up and call the utility yourself.
A major scare yesterday at Pinkerton Academy as falling ice and snow hit a gas meter, causing it to rupture. The Derry Fire Department and the gas company were able to shut the main down and repair it without incident. There’s no truth to the rumor that the avalanche from the roof was caused by Hooksett School Board Chair Trisha Korkosz swinging her gavel.
Finally, this morning, the Goffstown Fire Department is urging people to clear snow and ice from the exits around their homes, clear chimneys and appliance vents to prevent carbon monoxide from backing up into the home and clearing roofs to prevent collapse. They say for the roof and chimneys, you should have pros like our friends at Manchester Roofing do the job so it gets done right without you getting hurt. We’ve linked to their notice from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ starts right now!
