NOTICE


WARNING ! – Ongoing attempts to by-pass and change the administrative functions and content of this blog ( generic "HACKS") has resulted in Substantial Reduction of normal access. Expectations of restricted availability and access will occur as these intrusions persist.

WATER !! WATER ? "Water"

Are you concerned/interested in Atkinson's water issue?
Visit the new water discussion forum.
http://www.just-goaway.com/
NEW PETITION ON FORUM
New Information and Updates Daily

Thursday, August 23

Boston Police Lt. abuse details!

Interesting story in the Boston Herald today about 3 Boston PD Lts. who are acused of abusing the detail system. They have surrendered their weapons and will be manning a desk pending investigation, after which they will most probably be charged, and fired. The interesting part of this story is that these three Lts. all with over 20 years service(It took them on average 16 years to make Lt.) all have base pay of $71,000/yr. http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1018646

Now, in Atkinson, we, too, have a police Lt., who is only 9 years out of the police academy. He was hired in 1998, part time, became full time in 1999, promoted to corporal in 1999, promoted to Sgt. in 2001, and promoted to Lt. in 2005, only 7 years out of the police academy! What a lightning promotion schedule! And although our Lt. is salaried at $60,000/yr. with so little experience, he gets overtime, detail pay, night shift differential, A TAKE HOME CAR! with gas and maintenance, and much more. This package including retirement and benes, costs the town between $90,000 and $100,000/yr. In Atkinson!!! Unbelievable, when you put that up against Boston PD Lts. with OVER 20 YEARS experience, making only $10,000 more in base pay, but without all these perks!

So which is right? Well This blog has called 67 towns in NH, and has yet to find any police officer who is paid more in total compensation!

We would welcome anyone who can give us more insight into this problem, perhaps someone has figures for officers statewide, we would welcome the information, but for now, it looks as though Atkinson is the most generous town in NH with the taxpayers money!

Wednesday, August 22

Mass, Teachers can't pass a 9th grade test?

There appeared a story in the Boston Globe this past Sunday about the fact that 55% of minority teachers graduating college in Mass. and trying to pass their certification tests are FAILING!!!

The Reason?? Poor reading, writing, and language skills!!!

The governor, and the Mass. Teachers association's response? Get rid of the tests, or make them easier! The tests are set at a 9th- 10th grade level, and these people with 4 years of college and a degree can't pass them! How can they be expected to teach?

You wonder why there is an achievement gap between white students and minority students nationwide, it is because these functional idiots, are being put into classrooms to teach these minority students, because the Unions believe that an hispanic student will learn better from an hispanic teacher, and the same for black students. This obviously is bulls**t!

So these college graduates with degrees in education can not read, write or communicate well enough to pass a 9th grade test! One of the prospective teachers had SAT scores of 789 to get into college.

No that was not for ONE TEST, THAT WAS THE COMBINED SCORE!!! This person is not qulified to flip burgers at McDonalds, and she is now in a classroom.

This is the state of public education in America.

Monday, August 20

Moving in the right direction?

It is so nice, as selectman Sapia said, the town and the school district working together and moving in the right direction as Mr. Baldwin said.

Of course what they didn't say is that there would be no need for all this Kumbaya crap, if the school board had done its job correctly in the first place.

Let's be honest; when was the last time you saw school board reps, come into selectmen's meetings and brief them on what is going on? If it were not for the public ridicule being heaped upon them, Mr. Mascola never would have come into the selectmen's meeting to brief them on the construction project!

And wasn't it nice for Mr. Baldwin to compliment Mr. Hughes, and say how much he has learned from him., Too bad that information couldn't have been learned before you put a district employee with no contractor certification in charge of the building project!

Too bad, that the school board that is now being cheered by the selectmen, as doing such a great job, couldn't hire a GC, develop a sprinkler plan, have utilities schematics, get permits. Yes Mr. Hughes did a geat job Surely in a government institution, his performance qualifies for a promotion!

What a racket!

Sunday, August 19

Fuzzy Math

For years we have heard questions about the umber of vehicles in the police fleet, and their relative value. We have also recently heard questions about the value of vehicle being disposed of by the chief, and the value of thier replacements, well the Atkinson-Reporter decided to look into these figures and found some startling results.;

The old Wheelchair van 1994 Dodge Ram Van Wheelchair conversion;
Kelly Blue Book Value:$3,170.00



http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars

The selectmen, you will remember, refused to accept a $750 bid from a Danville gentleman, in favor of a $1.00 sale to a Danville family.

Loss to the taxpayers -$3,169.00

2000 Ford Crown Victoria Cruiser;
Kelly Blue Book Value: $3,080.00

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars

This vehicle was traded in to Irwin Ford by the Town?, Irwin gave the town $300 for it, It is rumored that the very next day the chief's son bought the vehicle for $400, it is a fact that this car can now be seen occasionally at the apartment building on Main st. across from Robie ln. Shady, Yes, Legal, not quite. RSA 95 prohibits a town employee from benefitting form the disposal of town property, and there is much case law that prevents a family member from serving as straw man for the transaction. By law all town property must be disposed of by competitive bid.

Loss to the taxpayers: -$2,780.00

Just in the improper disposal of these two vehicle the taxpayers were screwed and the town lost a total of -$5,949.00

The important issue here is not the price which he paid for the car, if it was more than it was sold for than the town could have gotten that money if it was disposed of by competitive bid, as the law states. I mean the chief's kid COULD have been on a car lot 80 miles away, looking for a good used cruiser, the day after it was traded in by the town, it could've hapenned that way, right? Only in Atkinson!

This blog thinks that the selectmen and the chief can no longer be trusted to dispose of vehicles on their own, it is time for a warrant article to force them to put a disposal article before the voters like they used to. They are failing miserably in their fiduciary responsibilities to the voters.

It is high time we hold them accountable! THROW THE BUMS OUT!

ELECTIONEERING-PLEASE REPORT

There are two questions on the September 12, 2007 ballot:
Water Protection And Honoring Viet Nam Veterans by properly placing their honor roll.
If you see or hear of any electioneering by any town official please drop us a note in the comment section for this article. We will not publish the comments but will keep them as an electioneering survey.

"Teapot Dome"

Google This..
"What goes around comes around." or as always "follow the money"

______Anniversary Remembered ______ Aug.19,1997 Musing remembrances (bad as they were)

Like a chapter from a Jack Kerouac novel, "via Mexican and Canadian borders" (Beecher Falls, Vt. to Haverhill, Mass.): A Senior Citizen just could not take it any more because his Government had overwhelmed him. So, in Colebrook, a small town north of the Notches, five people met their untimely ends that day.

First, two from NH's "F" Troop, (yes NH has an "F" Troop) discovered rust on the senior's
pick-up. The senior shot them and took their car. He then went and found a former Selectman- judge-attorney and shot him. While there a hanger-on from the local Sentinal newspaper got involved and was also shot. The last was the old timer himself, meeting his demise in an all afternoon chase and shoot-out with the law.

This is but a cautionary tale that government sometimes looses perspective and they should always be aware that they are not in a personal game, but are dealing with real people.

It happened that way -- just ten years ago.

Friday, August 17

Confusion about Atkinson's Kindergarten problems, Hear Here!

In March 2007 the voters voted for public kindergarten, and that is where the problems began.

The school board decided that the classrooms needed to be open by the start of school in the fall. That was the priority before anything else. And it was eminently possible had they done the job right! Their efforts to short cut the process has put them almost two months behind schedule. But in all fairness the time has been being made up by work going on while the state fire marshall has halted work on the site.

First mistake, the school board decided NOT to hire a certified General Contractor for the project, thinking they would save money. A GC would have asked up front for the sprinkler plan, and the schematics for electrical and plumbing, and would have gone and pulled the permits. No Instead the school board decided to let the school district facilities manager oversee the project. This man in basically a maintenance manager and to the best of this blogs knowledge has no knowledge, bond, insurance or certification as a general contractor!

Second Mistake the school board decided that they didn't need basic safety permits, like building, fire, plumbing, electrical. When the town's officials told them that these were needed and the town would not sign off on any unpermitted work(which is their job) THE SCHOOL BOARD CALLED THE STATE FIRE MARSHALL in an attempt to do an end run around the town. The state fire marshall found 14 violations and shut the work down! This would be bad enough if the school board treated the town with this level of disrespect, but the fact that the CHAIRMAN OF THIS BOARD IS AN ATKINSON RESIDENT, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN ATKINSON! For him to break the law, or condone the breaking of the law, in his own town is heinous!

Third mistake The school board thought that an abscure case law that allows governmental bodies to skirt around zoning variances could be stretched to cover safety permits as well, It can not! Anyone of rudimentary education reading the case would know that immediately. Our school board apparently did not.

Fourth Mistake when this issue came to light the chairman, Mr. Baldwin made public comments basically making light of this debacle. Statign that there had not been a fire safety issue yet, and that they had extinguishers, smoke detectors, and evac plans, the implication being that all this other stuff was just frosting, and not really necessary.

Fifth mistake The school board and Atkinson's selectman Sapia were made aware two years ago that 2/3rds of the school was unsprinklered. and there was no fire truck access to the back of the building! THEY DID NOTHING!!! It was selectmen Sapia who stopped that work two years ago when it was being done for free by volunteers. When this comes to light three weeks ago, Chairman Baldwin says that it was being planned but has not been budgetted. And they are still getting cost estimates, but that HE CAN'T SEE IT COSTING MORE THAN $15,000!!!

ARE YOU MAD MR. BALDWIN??? Where did you receive your plumbing certification? It will cost more than that JUST FOR THE COPPER, NOT EVEN COUNTING THE DESIGN AND LABOR! If it would only cost $15,000 you could have done it any of the last two years, the school district pisses away more money than that in waste every single year! If it was only going to cost $15,000 then why would you have to split it up into two budget years? This blog would hazard a guess that it is probably because you KNEW that it will cost much more! This is very similar to deliberative session in March when you were publicly telling the town that the tower would cost the town nothing, and then you are handing out, to certain people cost estimates of $568,000 JUST FOR THE EQUIPMENT!!! This is the kind of, in this blog's opinion, lying that the general public can no stand in our elected officials!

Had the school board simply done their job right, and hired a certified GC to oversee the project, it would have been done right, and if the GC screwed up as badly as the school board has, it would have come out of his pocket to make it right, not the public's!

Wednesday, August 15

Veteran’s Memorials and Honor Rolls Are NOT to be Landscaping Decorations for the Library!!!

Publius,
Would you please allow this submission as a blog article?
Carol Grant

Veteran’s Memorials and Honor Rolls Are NOT to be Landscaping Decorations for the Library !!!

The Selectmen’s sudden focus and illegal Electioneering use of so far, two Selectmen’s Meetings to talk about a Veterans Park is a very transparent attempt/ploy to murky the waters and distract from the voters the intent of the Sept. 12 Special Town Meeting to make the selectmen honor 2005 Town Meeting vote to honor our Vietnam veterans by placing the Honor Rolls where the voters mandated they go.

My attention was just called to a very timely and appropriate submission on Plaistow’s blog, “The Plaistow Town Crier.” It correctly points out that war memorials should be placed where people will ALWAYS see them and NOT off some place where they’re rarely seen.

I quote from the Plaistow Town Crier: "Hey, Atkinson, Here’s how we honor the veterans over in Plaistow. We don’t hide the stones in a park that only gets visitors twice a year...The memorials are right on the Town Hall lawn where everyone can see them. Unless your business with the town has got you in a fog, you can't help notice them. You have to walk right past several on your way into the building…”

I strongly agree and have always felt this way. At one of the many informational meetings about the proposed new library, during talk about the landscaping for it, I felt outraged when it was pointed out that the area around the new library could be “decorated” with Atkinson’s War monuments. Using and relegating our military service memorials to being “lawn decorations" is offensive and an insult to those who served their country in uniform and went in harm’s way under our flag.

Plaistow has the right idea. While going about our daily lives far from past and present battlefields, we should never forget our Atkinson sons and daughters who served or are now serving far from home. The future placement of Atkinson’s war memorials rightfully belongs where we can be ALWAYS reminded of the service of our veterans – at the Town Hall.

We have a large empty field between the Town Hall front driveway and the Academy parking lot –plenty of open space for our current and future war memorials and for the many residents who attend the Memorial Day celebrations. The abutting Town Hall and Academy parking lots will provide plenty of parking spots for attendees. There’s also the availability of Town Hall bathrooms for the attendees.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Right now we have two Vietnam Honor Roll panels which shamefully have had to be kept in storage for two yrs because of the Selectmen’s arrogant and illegal refusal to honor the 2005 Town Meeting vote to place them in front of Town Hall. Special Town Meeting on Sept. 12 should finally bring Atkinson’s Vietnam-era veterans the honor they earned and have been cruelly denied.

SECOND: When all Atkinson’s military sons and daughters come home from Iraq, Kuwait,and Afghanistan, Atkinson will be true to its tradition since the Civil War of honoring those who served from Atkinson, by inscribing their names on an Honor Roll. AT THAT TIME, a decision will need to be made BY TOWN MEETING VOTERS about where that Honor Roll will go. Hopefully, we will then have an honorable, legally- behaving Board of Selectmen which will comply with the legally-binding Town Meeting vote and will not thumb their noses at the voters.

IF Atkinson should vote SEVERAL YEARS FROM NOW to create a Veterans Park, there
would be no more appropriate or practical place than the empty field next to the Town Hall. There could be no higher or more honorable use for that field. Residents would then be invited to submit designs and ideas for the lay-out of such a park.

NOTE: An important negative to consider when deciding if there should be a Veterans Park is that the Civil War Honor Roll on the Common CAN NOT be moved. It and the portion of the Town Common on which it sits (about ¼ of the current enlarged Town Common) were donated as a COMBINED perpetual gift to the town in 1888 by Wm. Todd and was so accepted by the then-Selectmen as such on behalf of the townspeople. Todd donated the Town Common solely and only for the purpose of a location for the donated Civil War Soldiers’ Monument. The town made an agreement with Todd and a town’s word is its bond.

Honoring Atkinson's Veterans

SEPTEMBER 12, 2007 THAT IS THE DAY EVERYONE NEEDS TO VOTE! Both to protect our water, and to tell the selectmen that our vote means something and they ARE BOUND BY IT! The selectmen are not elected kings, they do what we tell them, they have failed in this and many other instances.

Above you can see the list of names that are on the Vietnam Honor Roll Panels. What you can not see is the panels themselves. Why? You may be asking, because even though 1200 of our residents voted to place those panels as pictured above, and not spend more than a dollar of taxpayer money on them, the Selectmen have refused to carry out their legal duty, and place them. Our board of selectmen take a minute of silence at the biginning of each meeting to honor our troops, while the one concrete(or marble) thing they could do to show their care and concern for our troops, placing the memorial panels, they steadfastly refuse to do.

This was the first war in history, where soldiers were not greeted with honor upon their return. They were spat upon, called every vile name in the book, and why? Because the media, and academia made a campaign out of turning public opinion against the war, and our troops, much like they are doing today with the War on Terror. These paralels are why the placement of these panels are so important.

It is high time to honor these fine young people who served with honor from Atkinson.

The cicitzens have called for a special town meeting to decide this question AGAIN! To put it to aa vote AGAIN! Certain members of the board of selectmen are working very hard behind the scenes to stack the deliberative session to once again attempt to alter these warrant articles to something inocuous. The tried before, and screwed it up, they are trying again.

Remember the conduct of your board of selectmen in this matter. Refusing to honor the town vote even when they had a letter from town counsel telling them that there was no conflcit in the two articles, they, in this blog's opinion, lied to you telling you that there was a conflict. Then they, in this blog's opinion, lied to you again, when this petition was presented telling you that a judge had already ruled on this matter when in fact, no judge had ruled, they had bullied 6 very nice little old ladies form the Historical Society into agreeing to their position, again, by misinforming those ladies about the probable outcome of going to court on the matter. No Officers and Gentlemen, these.....

Call all of your friends, particularly elderly people with sons and duaghters who are veterans, and ask them to support these panels. Do not let yourselves be bamboozled by Sapia, Consentino, Childs, et al. into disgracing our vets yet again.

Friday, August 10

School Board violates Fire Codes!

As reported in the Eagle-Tribune today, Atkinson has sufferred another setback in the construction of our kindergarten classrooms that can be laid directly at the feet of our school board.

The state fire marshall told the school board that the entire building must be sprinklered to bring it up to code! You will remember that this discovery was made two years ago, when Mr. Sapia and Mr. Consentino put a stop to the volunteers building the fire access road, and improving the field. It was pointed out to Mr. Sapia then that 2/3 of the school had no sprinklers and there was also no fire truck access to the back of the building. Mr. Sapia replied that the sprinklers would be "easy, that's just a matter of cutting a loop into the system". Well Mr. Sapia, if it was so easy, why wasn't it done? Even now school board chair Baldwin is saying that it won't be doen until next year, because it was never budgetted! Why not?

Mr. Baldwin is quoted in the paper as saying that there have been no fire safety issues at the school, The implication being that sprinklers are not needed but will be extra insurance, in fact, he states later in the article that the addition of sprinklers "this just reinforces the safety". This blog's question for the school board chairman who by occupation is a police Lt. in Atkinson; If you stopped us for speeding, and we replied "but we have never had any accidents" would that get us out of the ticket? We guess the law only matters when it is convenient.

Monday, August 6

Electioneering pt. 3- Jack STILL doesn't get it!

MAcciard said...
Publius, Please accept this as an article submission, you could even entitle it Electioneering pt. 3- Jack STILL doesn't get it!

I went to the selectmen's meeting tonight because I saw on the agenda that Lt. Cmdr Latham was coming in with a proposal for a veteran's park similar to what Salem or Derry has. His proposal was beautiful, and in principle, as a veteran myself, I am all in favor of this proposal, However it was wrong, and probably illegal for the selectmen to entertain this discussion now, when the issue of veterans memorials placement is under ballot to the voters in a month's time. Is the timing of this proposal coincidental, maybe, but probably not.

The problem here, is "Electioneering" which is illegal. Electioneering is defined as a public employee or official using their position to discuss upcoming ballot issues in a manner that may sway the vote for or against a candidate or issue.

Knowing that selectmen Sapia made the selectmen vote two years ago to operate under "Robert's Rules of Order" I called for a procedural point of order, to warn the selectmen that if they continued to dicuss this issue they would open themselves up to charges of electioneering. Given the fact that the town has sufferred over 9 legal actions in the last 2.5 years, because of the selectmen's failure to follow the rules(and the law), I wanted to give them the opportunity to table this discussion until after Sept. 12. Selectmen Sapia chose to gavel me down before I had even announced the point of order, stating that it was his decision.

Here is the problem, when an issue is already on the table, ANY resident has the right to speak on it. The selectmen may control the subject matter, but to allow a subject on the table then not allow a resident to speak on it is a violation of that residents rights, not to mention just plain wrong. If we were truly operating under Robert's Rules, the chairman should have at least listened to the point of order, but selectmen Sapia showed once agan, that he is more interested in hearing what he wants to hear, than being fair, and observing the rules for everyone.

I held my objection until Mr. Latham was finished with his presentation out of respect for that gentleman, however for the board to entertain discussion about the placement of veterans memorials when the town is going to vote on the placement of the vietnam veterans memorial in one month is illegal. This issue could have been brought up and discussed any time within the last three years, that this issue has been going on, and it can be discussed in one month's time, if it is a genuine issue. The fact that it is eing brought up now, and discussed at selectmen's meetings is because, I suspect, it is intended to give the voters an option other than voting for the warrant article before them on Sept. 12. This would be classified as an attempt to sway the vote, or electioneer.

Either way, the board of selectmen should have had the class, and honor not to discuss this issue until after the vote. It is obvious to me as well as many others that these are qualities sadly lacking in this board, especially in its leadership.

August 6, 2007 10:46 PM

Wednesday, August 1

Kindergarten won't open in Atkinson! Due to Negligence!

Readers of this blog will remember the stories about the state fire marshall stopping construction on the new kindergarten classrooms. For those who don't remember here are the headlines. The school board(who had responsibility for overseeing and organizing this project) did not bother to get the proper, and legal, safety permits, Bulding, electrical, fire, plumbing, etc. When asked about this at a school board meeting, Chairman William Baldwin, himself a police Lt. in Atkinson, said that the school board did not need to get those permits. When fire chief Murphy told them they needed permts, they blew him off as well. When chief Murphy refused to sign off on work performed due to lack of permits, the SCHOOL BOARD or its assigns called the state fire marshall in an attempt to do an end run around the town. The state fire marshall shut down construction, finding 14 violations onsite.

Then the Board could not find plans and schematics for the electrical and plumbing for the building. So here we are 4 weeks before the start of school and the building is still stopped! The board has submitted plans, finally, why didn't they have plans and schematics BEFORE construction began? Why weren't safety permits important? I mean, it is only OUR KIDS IN THERE!!! What about the 2/3 of the school with no sprinklers?

What about the lack of fire truck access around the back of the building? Volunteers were doing that work for free two years ago, until Jack Sapia ordered them to stop. Now that access road and wall will cost us $138,000. Jack, why don't YOU pony up the cash for this debacle?

And here is another scandal resulting from the school boards mismanagement of this project... There were no RFP's tendered for outfitting the classrooms in all four towns! Typically when a government entity wants to get something done that will cost more a $1000, they, by law, have to request competitive bids from at least three vendors. They do this by putting out a document called a "Request for proposal" or RFP. This document gives all prospective vendors the SPECIFIC specifications for the project, so that they will all be bidding on the same items. For example, RFP would state we want a 2007 Ford Crown Victoria, base model, no options, and all vendors would bid on the same item.

That is not how the school board organized this(note: we are picking on the school board because it was THEIR responsibility, no one elses) They put one of the elemtary school principles in charge of getting this done. Bear in mind that one of the bidders is the husband of a Sandown School Administrator, who works in a furniture store, They merely gave the prospective vendors a general list, ie: a teachers chair, a teachers desk, 20 children's desks, etc. NO SPECIFICS!!!

The problem with this corrupt way of doing this is there are no objective standards at work. So lets say that one vendor that does this for a living quotes on a Steelcase Teachers chair, excellent quality, and guaranted for life, but $200, and the employees husband quotes on the chair on clearance at staples for $69.99, The school would go with the $69.99 one, but had they put that in the RFP, the first vendor could have supplied that very same chair for a cost of only $47.62, a savings of $22.37. This is why the law requires competitive bidding, but that was too complicated for our board. Multiply thhese saving by the 10,000 items required to outfit all the classrooms.

This is our tax dollars being wasted by incompetent elected officials too lazy to do this the right way. The fact that this travesty is being perpetrated under the management of School Board Chairman Baldwin, himself a resident and employee of the town is just one more area of concern.

The school Board is looking every bit as competent as our selectmen at this moment!

ATKINSON's Vietnam HONOR ROLL as VOTED and PASSED by 2005 Town Meeting and re-approved at Special Town Meeting Sept. 12

EDITORIAL-


A voice of compassion, an example of fairness and reasonable government.

One who believes in the strength and comfort you, your children and your family can draw from good government leadership.

A person who knows Atkinson is our home -- our most important possession that must be preserved and protected through fair taxes and sound community planning and where our children must be safe to grow to become a new generation of leaders.

One who knows that the citizens of Atkinson are all neighbors with her leadership to be dedicated and responsive to all.

One who believes that when those from Atkinson have served our nation and honors are deserved, those honors must be given.

In Valerie Tobin, we now have a leader we know we can entrust with these responsibilities because they are part of her character.

It is our honor to endorse Valerie for election to Atkinson’s Board of Selectmen.

Just a note for those who wish to count the deer.

In January 08 this blog had 16,000 hits and 1,500 unique visitors (for the month).

In 2007 this blog had over 100,000 hits and 5,750 unique visitors (for the year).

EDITORIAL-


"I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense . . ." [TP, 1776]

We take no small measure of umbrage at such a hostile official act against this BLOG’s patron. Therefore, a timely Editorial comment is both appropriate and necessary.

Discussion of Atkinson’s financial direction, from any viewpoint, is fundamental and encouraged and we will always attempt to limit and correct errors.

However, Righteous indignation towards purported error of such inconsequential nature is not appropriate.

The ENTIRE car deal is problematic. If it was caused by poor judgement, improper exercise of authority, neglect or mistake or even specious reasoning, this will never trump the facts that the entire questionable transaction started and ended within a very small circle of confidants.

We find the entire circumstances surrounding the disposition of the police Cruiser highly irregular at the least and the "explanations" somewhat trifling and exhaustive of our intellect.

Mr. Consentino: It’s time to go. Being Chief of Atkinson’s Police Department is NOT a birthright. That is a fabled legend of yesteryear.

Historically in Atkinson, police chief appointments were made "under the hand of the selectmen" for terms of one year at a time, as was also the case in the beginning of Mr. Consentino’s assorted and discontinuous stream of appointments to this position.

Your only remaining credential established on a claim of indispensability has faded.

So time is neigh. Plan a graceful exit, Clean out your desk, Accept the gratitude and tearful sentiments from some. We plan no editorial recriminations. It is time. Thank you for your service, We wish you a long and happy retirement. Bon Voyage.

LETTER


"To All Atkinson Residents,

I am writing to ask for your help. A member of the Atkinson Police Department needs our help. I am here to ask for your help in Corporal John Lapham's fight for his life. As you are aware, John has been diagnosed with Leukemia. He has been once again hospitalized with an infection that is threatening his life. He is one of the bravest people that I have ever met. He has never asked of anything from the residents of the town. Now is our chance to step up and help both him and his family out. As everyone is aware John has been out of work for a few months. His family has been busy helping John to get better. He needs our help, and I am hoping that this town can step up to the plate and help. From the moment that I met John, I have admired him. He does alot, but never asks for anything in return. He has helped so many people in this town. I for one am one of those people. Please help him.

There is a fund set-up in his name at TDBanknorth in Plaistow. Any amount will help John, while he is out of work. It would be great if this town could help ease a burden off his wife.

Thank You

Also if anyone would like to send a card, please address it to:

John Lapham
c/o Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Ctr.
Inpatient mail
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Please show Corporal John Lapham, that this community can stand up and show our support to those in need. I for one, miss John and can not wait until he can get better and return to work. Please show him that we support him. "