Chief Willard: Comments cause a stir
Recent comments made by Manchester’s new Police Chief Nick Willard have caught the attention of at least one powerful state lawmaker: House Speaker Shawn Jasper. In a recent W M U R news story about the massive increase in heroin seized by the Manchester Police Department, Willard said, quote “We need more action. We need the leaders of this state to step forward and help us with this heroin epidemic, because it’s not going away.” In response, Jasper issued a statement, which we’ve published as received at Girard at Large dot com saying in part quote:
Speaker Jasper: Responds to Willard’s comments
“In direct response to the growing drug crisis in our communities, the New Hampshire House and Senate put forward a spending plan that increased funding for addiction treatment and recovery services by 75%. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed the budget containing these provisions impeding our state’s ability to deal effectively with this epidemic.
This legislature has also taken other important steps in the fight against addiction including passing a Good Samaritan Law encouraging people to report overdoses, making Narcan available without a prescription, and approving change in Rules to allow police officers to administer Narcan. But the most important step was increasing state funding for substance abuse programs by 75% in the budget that the Governor vetoed.
In addition to addiction treatment and recovery funding, the budget also contained increased funding for the Department of Safety, whose efforts aid local law enforcement in our overall campaign to stop the supply and distribution of illegal and addictive substances.
We’ve linked to Jasper’s statement from this news read.
MPD: Announces police test
While we’re sort of on the topic of the Manchester Police Department, it’s announced it will be hosting an entry-level police exam on Saturday, November twenty first. The deadline for applications is Thursday, November twelfth. Interested parties are asked access the available links on the department’s Web site at manchester p d dot com. Those with questions are encouraged to contact Officer Carl Accorto at 7 9 2 5 4 5 2.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Judge Judy: What would she say?
It would appear as if the towns of Sandown and Danville really have had enough of the Timberlane Regional School District. Yesterday, both towns filed a combined lawsuit against the district in an attempt to put an end to what they believe are the unlawful, even rogue actions of the district by its administration and school board. In the suit, the towns seek relief in three areas, get ready for the I told you so:
First, they’re seeking to block the consolidation of the proposed use of the Sandown Central School for district wide pre-K and special ed programs, as well as for Sandown’s kindergarten students. They say the line items for the school were zeroed out in the budget that was adopted by the voters and that the voters also failed to approve warrant articles to fund the school. They also note the school board voted to close the school before it voted to re-purpose it.
Metzler: Actions lead to another lawsuit
Second, they say the district’s attempt to use surplus funds to upgrade the playground area around Sandown North is also unlawful inasmuch as a warrant article asking voters to allow those improvements was shot down.
Third, they claim that the district has knowingly and intentionally violated the state’s Right to Know Law by refusing to either post or keep minutes of Superintendent Earl Metzler’s advisory committee regarding the consolidation of Sandown’s North and Central elementary schools.
Of course, the lengthy filing which totals over one hundred pages, painstakingly details who did what when and identifies with precision the laws violated along the way. We’ve obtained the documents and will upload them with this newscast at Girard at Large dot com. We’ve also linked to a blog entry posted by Timberlane School Board Member Donna Green which includes the documents. Sandown letter to Court, Sandown-Danville v. Timberlane Verified Petition and Exhibits, Sandown-Danville v. Timberlane Memorandum in Support of Pet for Temp Restraining
Green: Threatened again
In a related matter, Green, who has battled the district and the school board over Right to Know issues and this proposed use of Sandown Central, also posted a blog entitled North Korea Take Some Notes, which we think we should share with our audience because it once again has school officials using threatening language. In the post, Green writes:
Yesterday I received an email from a well connected Sandown resident saying he had heard that Sandown was suing the district and as a result kindergarten was to stay in Sandown North. Since Dr. Metzler was on vacation, I called the principal of Sandown North to ask if there was any truth to this rumor. Ms. Georgian was not in so I left a brief, matter-of-fact voice mail message. That was the totality of my contact with Ms. Georgian.
I did not expect her to return my call because I have long had a strong sense that district employees are fearful of being known to have spoken to me.
Well, the climate of fear starts from the very top. Here is Mrs. Steenson’s email to me tonight:
Steenson: Claims harassment, again.
Mrs. Green,
I have been asked to remind you yet again to go through the Chair if you wish to speak with district administrators. You have been accused of harassing a building principal. Please stop. She isn’t receptive to your calls. You are not following proper procedure.
Nancy Steenson
Well, ain’t that somethin’? Remember well, it was about a year ago that Green was accused of harassing district personnel, which caused a police investigation that was ultimately dropped after the district was forced to release security camera video of the alleged incident of harassing behavior because there was absolutely no harassing behavior. Remember also that Steenson has denied Green access to any and all school buildings in the district, which Green says prevents her from obtaining information and seeing what’s happening in the schools.
She refers to these communication obstacles as quote, “an insufferable obstruction to my duties and undermines Sandown voters’ right to representation” and she’s right.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ____ is next!
