MPD Citizens Police Academy accepting applications
The Manchester Police Department will be hosting its twenty sixth CITIZEN’S POLICE ACADEMY. The class is scheduled to begin September twenty third. All classes will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:00 at the police headquarters on Valley Street. The Academy is an eight week program designed to inform residents about the role of this agency in our community. It consists of a classroom format with some limited participation, if you choose to partake. There is no fee to attend, but you will be required to fill out a brief application and go through a background check before being accepted. Additional information and the application regarding this program are available at manchester p d dot com. Seats are limited.
Soucy: Big neighborhood health initiative on the way.
Community leaders in Manchester are announcing a first of its kind collaborative effort, the Neighborhood Health Improvement Strategy this morning at 10:30. The announcement will take place at Gossler Park School, one of the three schools the initiative focuses on. More than two point four million dollars has been committed to action items outlined in the program. Several local agencies have been convened by Granite United Way in this effort, including the city’s health department and school district, Easter Seals New Hampshire, NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire, Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, Manchester Community Health Center, Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester and Granite YMCA. This innovative, integrated model will support children and families in the Beech Street and Gossler Park school communities with the potential of expansion to other priority neighborhoods in the future such as the Bakersville area. Among the representatives from the groups mentioned will be Manchester Public Health Director Tim Soucy and Mayor Ted Gatsas. We’ll see if we can’t get them to shed some light on what’s happening during this morning’s show. Click here for Tim Soucy’s interview on the topic.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Gatsas: Ecstatic
Mayor Ted Gatsas is crowing about a recent article on Thumbtack dot com which named Manchester the number one city in the United States for small business friendliness as a result of their annual Small Business Friendly Survey. Gatsas called the report “great news” and said he was “ecstatic.” Quote:
“For six years we have worked hard to foster a more business-friendly environment here in the Queen City and when you receive this type of recognition it gives us reinforcement that what we’ve been doing here in Manchester is having a positive effect and we are achieving our goals.”
Gatsas credited the Manchester Economic Development Office, City Clerk’s Office, Planning and Building Department, Manchester Development Corporation, Chamber of Commerce and others for their work to improve the city’s business climate and pointed to money he put in the city’s budget to create the Small Business Assistance Program as proof the city’s efforts to be business friendly will continue.
Craig: Accusations v. Actualities.
About an hour after that press release hit our inbox, we got one from mayoral candidate Joyce Craig blasting the mayor over an announcement by the White House that it was quote un quote “committing resources” to fight the regional heroin crisis. In applauding the White House for its initiative, Craig said quote
“Manchester must play a more active role in these partnerships and the Mayor’s consistent failure to work with other officials has prevented our city from getting the help we truly need to curb this epidemic.”
She did not reply to our question regarding which officials the mayor has failed to work with.
She also said the mayor quote
“refuses to work with our state officials to get our city the resources we need. He continues to focus on getting headlines, not solutions.”
She did not reply to our question regarding which state officials Gatsas is refusing to work with, though her statement did fault the mayor for not publicly backing the Expanded Medicaid program that has been an item of dispute between Governor Margaret Wood Hassan and Republican leaders in the General Court.
Said Craig, quote
“We need a mayor who is willing to do whatever it takes to solve this problem, not one who picks and chooses responses based on politics.”
Not sure you’d know that by her press release and continued refusal to support her statements with examples when asked, but there it is.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
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