Johnson: Says he wanted a college recommendation.
Well, now we know why twenty one year old Damian Johnson went into West High last Thursday. Johnson, who attended West and Memorial high schools until two thousand eleven, but didn’t graduate from either, said he was looking for a college recommendation. He entered the building as students were coming to school and was spotted by a female student who recognized him as the father of her best friend’s baby and reported his presence in the school to Principal Christopher Motika. Motika informed the school resource officer of his presence and ordered the school into lock down because Johnson reportedly had a gun in his waistband. The Manchester Police Department was then notified of the lock-down. Teacher Beverly Robie notified the M P D that Johnson was in her classroom and that he was a former student of hers who’d come into school to get a college recommendation. Johnson was taken into custody without incident and charged with a variety of crimes after it was discovered he’d placed the pellet gun and folding knife he carried into the school into the backpack of a female student who accompanied Johnson to the Robie’s classroom. The teen said she’d allowed him to place the weapons in her bag because he didn’t want to go back to jail. Carol Robidoux, publisher of the online newspaper Manchester Ink Link dot com has chronicled a bunch of other details of this “more fascinating by the moment story” and we’ve linked to her article from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
Bow Police: New street numbers need to be visibly displayed
Police in Bow have issued a notice asking residents living on re-named and or re-numbered streets to place their new street number on their mailbox or some other place that is visible from the road. They’re warning that 9 1 1 operators will only be able to provide residents’ new address and that there is no way to cross-reference them with the old ones. Therefore, not having the correct number visible to emergency responders can potentially lead to a delay in locating your home, especially in an emergency. Residents with questions or concerns should contact Bow Police Sergeant Art Merrigan at 2 2 8 0 5 1 1.
New Boston School Board seeks volunteers for building committee.
Last Wednesday, the New Boston School Board voted unanimously to form a committee to evaluate the space needs of New Boston Central School. Architectural plans were generated in two thousand nine for a four classroom addition. The Space Needs Committee will evaluate a broad range of issues, review space options and make recommendations to the New Boston School Board. Parents or members of the community interested in serving on the Space Needs Committee are asked to contact Denise Morin at S A U nineteen headquarters. We’ve listed her email and phone number and posted the details of the committee’s work in this newscast for your convenience. d morin at goffstown dot k twelve dot n h dot u s or 6 6 0 5 7 5 8.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Green: Video tells a different tale
Well, we’ve finally obtained the security video from the Timberlane Regional School District that accused School Board Member Donna Green says will clear her of the wrong doing alleged by Superintendent Earl Metzler. It should be noted that the district did not actually provide a copy of the video that was compatible with commercially available media players or convertible with anything but very specialized software. If they truly intended to be forthcoming with the information as requested in Right To Know requests filed by Girard at Large and several other parties, they would have either provided the player used to record and play the video on the thumb drive they required for transfer of the file or used the software that recorded it to convert it to a standard format that could be played.
Metzler: Video proves charges v. Green were false
In any event, Green posted a link to the unusable file to her blog with a request for help converting it and, as a result, we have the video and it clearly shows that the charges levied by Metzler in filing a complaint with the Plaistow Police are a joke designed to harass her. While there is no audio, there is also clearly no hostile gesture or anything threatening, menacing or harassing in Green’s body language, nor is there anything in the body language of the alleged victim that would imply she was even remotely defensive. In fact, roughly half of the ten minute video, Green is actually sitting in a lobby chair with two staff members standing above her. For three minutes, she’s alone at the front desk in the lobby. We’ve linked to the video and to her account of events written shortly after being accused and invite you to see for yourself just what a bogus claim’s been filed against her.
Timberlane’s budget up, up, up, student population down, down down under Metzler
Meanwhile, Green’s husband Arthur, a member of the Timberlane Budget Committee, released data showing that Timberlane’s per pupil costs jumped more than eight percent in the past year. While Superintendent Metzler says spending only rose by two million dollars, or three point two percent, he’s avoided the precipitous decline in student census that’s also happened over the past year, where one hundred fifty fewer students enrolled this year over last; a roughly three percent decline. At a recent school board meeting Metzler even disputed claims of a falling census and criticized unnamed school board members and others of disseminating false tax rate information, while also admitting the allegedly false numbers came from projections provided by his administration during the budget process. We’ve linked to the details of Arthur Green’s findings which ought to raise a lot of questions for the taxpayers of Timberlane.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next.
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