To the Editor:

I hope you will join me in voting for Eileen Ehlers.

Eileen is a Democrat and I am a Republican, but I find her honesty and sincere will to serve refreshing. I will be voting for three other candidates, but I will proudly cross over party lines to vote for Eileen.

We met during my council inquiry and talked extensively how we do not buy into the Good ‘Ole Boy network. The men will be having drinks at the Barley House or The Capital Grill and patting each other on the back. She will have to come home to do the laundry. That is the difference between men and women.

Our husband’s retire and play golf. The day we retire is when they put the dirt over our face. Women do not have time to become a Good ‘Ole Girl.

I have talked with Eileen extensively about her take on issues and I am happy to support her along with three others. The last time I jumped the fence was in 1976 to vote for Jimmy Carter. That was a disaster. I know my vote for Eileen will not be a disaster. Thank you all.

Pat Rueppel
Hooksett

To the Editor:

I am writing in support of Rep. Tony F. Soltani’s re-election to the New Hampshire House.

I have known Rep. Soltani for approximately 20 years and have the highest regard for his integrity, honesty and commitment to his community. He has work tirelessly to represent the towns of Allenstown, Epsom and Pittsfield in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

In his career as a state representative, he has reached many milestones, which had not been met by our previous representatives for decades.

As a member of the New Hampshire House leadership team, Rep. Soltani has made Allenstown’s voice well heard and our concerns addressed. He understands our community and is responsive to all those who seek his assistance with several state bureaucracies.

It is without reservation that I urge my fellow voters, regardless of party affiliation, to cast their ballots in support of Tony during the Nov. 7 general election.

Robert Hasselbarth
Allenstown

To the Editor:

The members of the Epsom Police Department would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to the Briggs family. The law enforcement community and the Manchester Police Department have lost a true officer and friend.

Officer Michael Briggs was raised in the small town of Epsom. He followed in his father’s and uncle’s footsteps and became a law enforcement officer. Officer Briggs started his police career as a part time officer with the Epsom Police Department. He was a member of the Epsom Police Department from 1996 to 2001.

During the time that officer Briggs served with the Epsom Police Department, he was dedicated to the department and to the community. Officer Briggs always had a great sense of humor, he was always willing to help a fellow officer or lend a hand to someone in the community.

The Epsom Police Department employees are honored to have had a chance to work and serve with officer Michael Briggs. We are proud to call him a brother and a friend. Officer Briggs gave the ultimate sacrifice and is a true hero; his memory will live on in the law enforcement community forever.

To the Briggs family, thank you for giving us the chance to be able to serve and know your son, brother, father and husband. Officer Briggs will be greatly missed by all. God bless you.

Epsom Police Department

To the Editor:

Over the past month, numerous articles have been in the paper about the type of behavior displayed by local students at dances. Usually these are written in a negative tone, describing the problems observed by adults when teenagers socialize together. I have written this letter to clarify the generalization about students.

On Friday evening we had a middle school dance with approximately 125 people attending. As you may recall, this night had lots of rain and wind. With 20 minutes left in the dance, we lost power due to a transformer down the street. Our emergency backup lights came on in the gymnasium. Your instinct may be of nervousness as to this situation. Our students remained calm and waited patiently for the adults to determine the next step. One of the teachers located a battery-powered CD player. The dance continued with students having fun in an appropriate way using this one small radio. The DJ and chaperones all commented about the upbeat spirit and manners displayed by the students of Epsom Central School. These young adults are to be commended.

Patrick Connors
Principal
Epsom Central School

To the Editor:

The new school year has arrived, and once again comes the concerns of our middle school students using school grounds and public areas as meeting places after school hours.

These young people create friendships in school but are discouraged to meet and socialize with friends after school. They now, also, have been asked not to meet at the safety complex.

The central location of the school and safety complex are conveniently located for the whole community. These young people are part of this community.

By “chasing” these young people “away,” what message are we sending? Are we encouraging constructive use of our young people’s free time or creating an opportunity for delinquent behavior in our community?

Our young people need a centrally located activities park where they are encouraged to be a constructive part of our community.

Where should Auburn’s young people go?

Mary Hrubiec
Auburn

To the Editor:

My name is Clark Karolian. I am a Hooksett resident, married and a father of two sons. I have been in law enforcement for over 25 years.

I retired from the Manchester Police Department in April 2002. During my career with Manchester, I served the department and city as an arrest warrants officer, motorcycle officer, S.W.A.T. officer and police detective. As a police detective, I investigated major crimes such as homicides, rapes, robberies and felonious assaults. After I retired from the Manchester Police Department, I worked for the U.S. Marshals Service in Concord for 4 years providing similar duties as our sheriff’s office, only on a federal level.

I believe it is imperative that the sheriff’s office perform its functions effectively and efficiently. The sheriff’s office is not a police department, it’s a specialized office mandated by the state to perform specific duties. Those duties include court security, serving civil process, transporting prisoners, and apprehending fugitives. Of course, in times of emergencies and crisis, the sheriff’s office stands ready to assist our local police departments with the resources they possess.

It’s mandatory for any public office to serve its taxpayers in the most effective and efficient manner. One cost saving measure is to utilize the nine-passenger prisoner van staffed with two deputies as opposed to the current wasteful method of numerous vehicles and deputies. Another way is to aggressively pursue outstanding warrants for “dead beat dads” who refuse to pay child support, causing those families in need to increase the use of social services.

I will respect the office of the sheriff by fulfilling the duties for which I am elected. I intend on being a “hands-on” sheriff whose priority is law enforcement, not politics. I will lead by example to provide and efficient, productive and nonpolitical workplace that will be less burdensome on our county tax rate.

Clark Karolian
Hooksett

To the Editor:

I am writing to urge my fellow voters to cast their ballots in support of Rep. Tony F. Soltani’s bid for re-election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Nov. 7.

I have known Tony for several years through his community and volunteer activities. He is also a member of the American Legion post in Epsom, having served in the United States Coast Guard. He was a former police officer in Epsom before earning his Juris Doctorate degree and entering the practice of law.

He is a reliable and responsive representative that has earned the respect of his fellow legislators. In the New Hampshire House of Representatives, he served on the key Judiciary Committee, which, among other things, is responsible for all bills related to the judicial branch and all bills involving issues of life and death. Clearly, this is a significant and important committee. Tony has served as the vice chairman of this committee. No representative of this district has served as either chairman or vice chairman of the committee for over a century.

During his current term, Rep. Soltani served as the chairman of the statewide Statutory Commission, a post which has not been occupied by a representative for this district for over half a century.

Rep. Soltani is also the House delegate to the statewide Court Accreditation Commission. this commission is responsible for the adequacy, accessability, maintenance and security of all the courts in New Hampshire. As the House delegate, Tony is responsible for ensuring adequate resources are made available and those resources are directed in a way to best serve the people of this state. This post has not been held by a representative from our district since its very inception in the 1980s.

My friend, Tony F. Soltani, has distinguished himself as an excellent representative, and I urge my fellow voters to return him to Concord for another term so our voices may be heard loud and clear.

George S. Foster III
Epsom

To the Editor:

I write this letter to support the re-election of Rep. Tony F. Soltani to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and to provide some background from my own experience with Tony.

I first met Tony while we both served on the Epsom Planning Board in the late 1980s. At the time, he was a police officer and prosecutor for the town of Epsom. I was impressed by his commitment and devoted attention on the planning board where he was elected by his fellow members to chairman. Those were pivotal times for Epsom and the planning board under Tony’s leadership. His personal effort was to ensure the growth of the town was consistent with our Master Plan while looking for ways to increase the tax base.

Tony has consistently demonstrated service to his community in both large and small ways. Besides having served as a police officer, planning board chairman and state representative, it has not been ununsal to find Tony serving up hot dogs or the dinner at Old Home Day or watching him get dunked in the dunking pool while raising money for good causes. Rep. Soltani has, with the same passion and commitment, represented his district as vice chairmanof the House Judiciary Committee.

Tony takes on many other public service activities, often gaining recognition for his outstanding efforts. For example, he received a dedicated service award from the New Hampshire Police Square Club in 1996 and an Appreciation for Service Award in 2001, after serving as a governor-at-large of the New Hampshire Bar. Has has been a moot court competition coach, volunteering his time to teach high school of our district how to present a case in a court of law. Rep. Soltani received the Community Service Award from the Merrimack County governing body in October 2003 for his work on the Merrimack County Juvenile Diversion Board (a program that offers a second chance to youthful first offenders).

During his first term as a representative for our district in 2000, Tony received a resolution passed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives for his dedicated service. This is a rare resolution, which is not conferred on many members of the House by their fellow representatives. Tony volunteered his time as a mediator for the New Hampshire Bar’s Fee Dispute Resolution Committee between 1995 and 2000. He was elected and served as the district representative for New Hampshire under the Federal Criminal Justice Act between the years 1997 and 2001. Rep. Soltani volunteered his time as a member of the Law Related Education Board and as the chairman of the Lawyer-in-Every-School Committee. This ongoing program brings the law to the classroom at every grade level and is now joined by most attorneys in New Hampshire and the majority of the judges.

Tony Soltani’s long history of volunteer leadership probably isn’t well-known to most voters, but I think it speaks to his commitment to community, fairness and the law. I have no doubt that with Tony as our representative in the New Hampshire Legislature, Epsom, Allenstown and Pittsfield are receiving the kind of representation these three communities deserve.

I urge by fellow voters to support Tony and return him to Concord for another term.

Gary Matteson
Epsom