Neighborhood News Inc. - The Hooksett Banner

The lament was heard over and over as we did research for our story on Town Meetings - it's not like it used to be. In the good old days - which, of course, are always looked at through rose-colored glasses - everyone came out to Town Meeting, it was a social event, everyone cared about their neighbor and it was better when the issues were discussed at a meeting. Indeed, it probably was like that for many towns and school districts before New Hampshire experienced its growth spurt.

It would be wonderful if everyone eligible to vote came to Town Meeting, School District Meeting or the SB2 version of those meetings, but it is simply not practical for most towns. Towns and school districts would have to rent a building like the Verizon Wireless Arena and bus everyone out there to accommodate the thousands that would add up to. And how long would a meeting like that go, if everyone wanted to speak?

The official ballot law, which most of us call SB2, does at least allow more people to participate in the process of deciding how our tax dollars are spent. The Town Meeting and the School District Meeting still happen under this setup, and we encourage people to attend those meetings. You.ll get a little flavor of the good old days when people hashed out issues in person. But SB2 allows voting on warrants on election day so you don't have to attend the meetings. That's led to lower attendance at the big meetings, which many old-timers see as a negative, but which busy people see as a positive thing for their time-crunched lives.

By not attending meetings, one hands enormous power to a few who do go - unelected people who may or may not agree with you. For many larger New Hampshire towns, it may be time to let go of nostalgia for the old days and consider a representative form of government.

– Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski and Managing Editor Christine Heiser.

A vast variety of foods were donated with poultry; a turkey or a chicken, for the holiday from Capital Region.

This year Allenstown was noted as having a higher demand than it's neighboring towns. Even so, within less than four hours, Allenstown Fire Department's volunteers had all food baskets unloaded from a delivery, organized for pick up and distributed by volunteers, by pick-up or emitted to Allenstown residents.

Initial delivery to Allenstown Fire Department was possible with a truck donated from Hertz Rental in Hooksett, and two ambitious volunteers: Richard Lombard and Debby Lombard of Allenstown.

The Lombard's had to be at Capital Region in Concord at 7 a.m. for food pick-up and also donated their time for the community.

This was an experience the town of Allenstown should be grateful for this holiday.

The current owner of the store, Debbie Chouinard, was equally surprised and none too happy about the note, either.

Mr. Gatsas's eulogy of Lloyd Robie notwithstanding, he may be interested to learn that Robie's Country Store has gone through several proprietors since its original owner retired, and very recently WMUR aired a piece about Mr. Robie after his death in which they interviewed the current owner of the store.

Please, Mr. Gatsas, the next time you make a statement as in this case about a business striving to perpetuate the heritage created by a local icon, be sure of your information. As a public figure your words can have a seriously negative effect.

Editor's note: Two letters ran in the past two weeks noting the closing of Robie's Country Store. One by Jim Sullivan was a tribute written in 1997 when the store closed, which was noted in the letter, but it may not have been clear to our readers that Robie's has been open now for several years under new management, overseen by the Robie's Country Store Preservation Corporation.

First, I can't imagine how the author of this letter heard "rumors" concerning my retirement many months ago when I personally hadn't made that decision until a few days before it was released. If this person missed the Jan. 12 article published in the Banner, it stated the personal and professional reasons for my early resignation from the commission. Being a small business owner in Hooksett for over 35 years I would be very interested in meeting the businessmen in town D. Dunn is receiving his false information from.

Second, the many people and officers in Hooksett who have had the pleasure of working with or have known Chief Agrafiotis as I have, would be insulted by the accusations made in this letter. The chief's many years of service and integrity should speak for itself.

Third, the chairmanship of the police commission is decided on a nomination basis, not on a rotation, as is stated in D. Dunn's letter. Several people, including myself, have served consecutive terms as chairperson. This is not unusual. My nomination for commissioner Gagnon was made with the best interest of the police department, and the town of Hooksett, not for personal reasons, as is implied in D. Dunn's letter.

In closing, I would like to say, as a lifelong citizen of Hooksett, a business owner for 35 years, and a member of the police commission for over six years, that all of my votes and decisions were made in the best interest of the citizens and police department of Hooksett.

I would encourage D. Dunn to attend the many public meetings of the commission as opposed to listening to rumors and halftruths as to the actions of the commission and its members.

I understand that it is difficult to hire new police officers in today's day and age. It is a tough profession, and I have the utmost respect for police officers, which is why I am defending them today.

I am curious though - this town approved the hiring of five new police officers several years ago. I know that they have never hired those officers. So, where is the money going and why would we give you the officers if you are not going to fill the positions?

You have a hard enough time trying to get people to come to work for Hooksett. I find it ironic, if you ask any of the officers if they would refer someone to come to work at Hooksett Police, they would say, "Not if your life depended on it." To me, there is something wrong if these officers feel this way. Yet, you say "The department is running at an acceptable level." What is an acceptable level? Always being down officers and yet treating the ones you have like criminals? If you don't think so, then you might need to examine your train of thoughts.

Secondly, you discuss about personnel issues being discussed. Well, all the information in my prior (letters) was from prior newspaper articles and commission meeting minutes, therefore you, the commission, made it public. Therefore, any further threats, refer to ones already made, to the officers by the chief will also be brought out in public.

Thirdly, you now state that the so-called investigation was a management study. I can't see how this was done when none of the past employees were spoken to by the investigator as you told them they would. Well, that being the case, the study is now public information and we, the public and taxpayers, have a right to see that report.

So, I now ask: When can we view this report since you have now publicly informed the taxpaying citizens that this report was a management study on the department, which by the way left Chief Agrafiotis out on paid leave for two months and then paid his attorney fees? If you will not allow us to review this report, then again it only leaves doubt in my mind about the integrity of the police commission and Chief Agrafiotis.

I am curious though - why is it that the Hooksett Police Department had to drastically increase their attorney budget to $32,000? I thought the attorneys were there to protect the agency and its officers? It appears to me that this is being used to go after the officers in a personal vendetta by Chief Agrafiotis. I find it ironic, as I believe this is against the Whistle-Blowers Act and you, the commission, are allowing this to happen. I suppose this is part of being a "team player."

One last question. If all decisions are made through the efforts of your "legal team," why do we have a commission or a chief? Why not just leave the attorneys to run the agency? I think I am beginning to see the makings of a small form of corruption.

So I also ask you Commissioner Gagnon, which meeting would you like me to attend, the recorded meeting or the quorum you have after the meeting when Commissioner Hess has gone home, which is very illegal? to be continued next week!

I saw the response from Commissioner Gagnon, however he did not deny the any of the allegations being mentioned, which concerns me that this type of behavior is going on.

I know that Chief Agrafiotis was placed on leave last year but no one would discuss the issues. All I was hearing was that it was the same complaints about being degrading, threats and treating employees unfairly. If this is true, why is he here? I am sure that there are labor laws which prohibit these behaviors from going on.

I noticed that the commission did not deny the allegations that two employees were on paid leave for a year. As a resident of Hooksett, I am curious what this cost? As a resident, I would ask that the budget comittee be extremely thorough when asking questions about the budget with this behavior going on.

I am curious if these articles have any merit to them? If so, why hasn't anyone looked into these matters? Our taxes seem to be continuously going up, and yet, this unnecessary spending appears to be going on? What in fact is being is being done if this is true and why is the budget commitee allowing this to happen?

I am not too familiar with the budget and how the process works. I am curious though, who oversees the spending of the police department's funding. Basically, who is accountable for the inappropriate spending if this is in fact happening? Does anyone have an answer for me?

The 99 Restaurant, Affordable Garages Inc., Al Terry Plumbing and Heating, Allstate Kelahan Agency, American Dragon Karate, Coldwell Banker Culbertson Realty, Crown Trophy, Evan's Pizza, Gosselin Insurance Agency, Hooksett Kiwanis, Hooksett Paving Co. Inc., Hooksett Tool Rental, Ideal Masonry Inc., Mailbox Express, Mary-Go-Round Childcare, Massabesic Quick Lube, Merchants Auto, Mortgage Partners, The Orthopedic Center, Outdoor World of New England, Paragon, Pepsi, Rauley Prints, Sharon's Ultimate Look Salon and Day Spa, Sierra Homes Inc., Stewart Title, The Lighting Shoppe, Tic- Tac-Tots Preschool and Wood's CRW Corp. of N.H.

Also, a thank you to Chris's Drywall Inc. and Tokyo Joe's Studios of Self-Defense for being Corner Kick Sponsors. To all sponsors, thank you for making our season a success!

Marc Pinard, Derick Aumann, Bill Gahara, Cass McKiernan, Lynda Johnson, Mark Chagnon, Debbie Schimmel
Hooksett

We can only assume that it was I that he was referring to as "unqualified" in his letter of Jan. 5. I will stack my qualifications on matters of science up against those of Mr. Ross any time he wants. I shouldn't have to, however, since Mr. Ross has already demonstrated his weakness in this area.

Despite claiming boredom, he then goes on to further demonstrate his misunderstanding of scientific concepts. Contrary to the statement by Mr. Ross, mass does not equal energy. That is not what Einstein's famous equation states. The equation quantifies mass-energy conversion, not that they are equal. By his reasoning, he probably believes that mass also equals force, since there is a similar equation quantifying their relationship.

On June 9, 2005, Mr. Ross stated in this paper, "I am always willing to discuss and defend my statements and positions with anyone daring to intellectually joust." Apparently, that is, until Mr. Ross decides that he is bored.

Editor's note: With this letter, we're ending this debate on our pages - at least until after election season.

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