Hallsville School: Controversy continues to rage
What exactly did happen at the Hallsville Elementary School in Manchester last Wednesday? Those who follow us on line or caught our interview on Fox News Boston, no doubt are aware of the allegations made by grade parent Keith Katsikas, accusing the school of forcing his fourth grade son, along with the rest of the class, to put curse words into a hat, randomly remove them, then swear, like they mean it, at a life sized paper man taped by a stranger to their classroom wall, then rip a body part off the paper man after they finished swearing at it. This is supposed to be an anti bullying lesson. We alluded to this controversy during Friday’s show (Part 1 and Part 2), and yes, we are awaiting a response from school district administrators, who, of course, are investigating. Katsiaks has started a petition to fire Hallsville Principal Christi Michaud over the incident. He says his son’s fourth grade teacher blamed her for the lesson, saying he was forced to accept it into his classroom.
Terrio: Trying to get to the bottom of it
Skeptical parents from the school have come forward. In comments posted to both the Girard at Large Web site and Facebook page, Katsikas is accused lying about the incident or exaggerating what happened. Michaud has not responded to our inquiries and Superintendent Debra Livingston seemed unaware of the controversy when we inquired, saying only that she would investigate the matter and get back to us with the facts. Katsikas is scheduled to meet with Livingston this morning. Ward Seven School Committeeman Ross Terrio will also be present at that meeting. We’ll be discussing this matter on today’s show and Katsikas is scheduled to be a guest on tomorrow’s show.
Danger in Dunbarton
The dam at Long Pond in Dunbarton failed on Friday, causing the closure of Black Brook and Long Pond roads, which were washed out as a result. Motorists should obviously take note. Officials in Goffstown are advising residents living near Harry Brook to monitor water levels. If they start to rise, please contact emergency personnel. With heavy rain in the forecast, all parties should take extra care to monitor water levels and expect flooding that would otherwise not occur.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Bedford, Goffstown police offer women’s self defense course
The Bedford and Goffstown police departments are offering a free R.A.D. Systems Defense class for the women in their communities. This program is available to women over eighteen and older and is designed to meet the needs of all ability levels. The R.A.D. System offers a basic education of confrontation principles and personal defense and is designed to help women overcome the effects of sexual harassment and sexual violence by teaching assertiveness, risk awareness, risk reduction, risk recognition, risk avoidance and physical defense strategies. The class will be two nights a week over a 2 week period on May twenty sixth and twenty eighth and June second and fourth from 6:00 to 9:00 P M at Memorial School located at 55 Old Bedford Rd. in Bedford. Students interested in taking this course must commit to attending all four sessions. Free refreshments and free t-shirts will be provided to all participants. We’ve listed the contact information to register for both departments with this news read at Girard at Large dot com. Please contact Bedford Sergeant Jessica Humphrey at (603)472-5113 or jesshumphrey@bedfordnh.org and Goffstown Officer Jacqueline Pelletier (603)497-4858 or jpelletier@goffstownnh.gov to register. The deadline to register is May 18th. Class size is limited, and enrollment is on a first come, first serve basis.
AG issues advisory for online pharmacies.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has issued a Consumer Alert regarding the use of unregistered online pharmacies. According to the A G, consumers run a number of risks including obtaining drugs that are out of date, counterfeit, mislabeled, contain the wrong or no active ingredients and be the wrong dosage, among others. They’ve issued guidelines consumers should follow to ensure the online pharmacy they use is legitimate, which include certification from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. We’ve published the A G’s alert in full at Girard at Large dot com and linked to it from this newscast for your convenience.
MST “coiffs” Liberty House vets
Residents of Liberty House, a homeless shelter for veterans in Manchester, got a nice treat from the Cosmetology students at the Manchester School of Technology last week. They got to go to the school for a haircut as part of their Week of Service. The veterans even got manicures if they wanted. It was a nice way to brighten their day and help them feel a little bit better about themselves and things. If you’d like to support the kids at M S T to continue their good works, you can send a donation their way to M S T Cosmetology, 5 30 South Porter Street, Manchester 0 3 1 0 3. Our thanks to the kids for helping the good folks at Liberty House feel like the special people they are.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next
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