Some Pembroke Academy students were surprised Wednesday morning when they pulled into school to find sheriffs handing out tickets to those not wearing seatbelts.

Under a grant from the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency, the Merrimack County Sheriff's Office is targeting young drivers from seven towns to make sure they're buckled up, Sheriff Scott Hilliard said.

Some school officials were concerned because they weren't notified of the checks in advance, said Pembroke Academy Headmaster Mike Reardon.

"I had absolutely no knowledge of this occurring," Reardon said. "We work very closely with the Pembroke Police Department. Nobody knew why these people were here or why they were on school property."

Reardon said he received several calls from parents and knew that some contacted the police department.

"Parents were not happy," he said. "I just want to get this clarified so it doesn't happen again."

Hilliard said the sheriff's department does not directly contact schools, but instead works with the local police.

"It's targeted at young people. That was the specific purpose. Our officers spoke to (the police) ahead of time," Hilliard said.

Pembroke Police Chief Scott Lane said there was coordination between the police and sheriff's department, but the school was not told.

"That may have been an oversight on our part," he said.

Although seatbelt checks are not unusual at high schools, they are typically conducted by a town or city police department, not county sheriffs, Lane said. "We run seatbelt compliance checks at the school three to four times a year as students leave the school. This was a little bit different in that the time period that sheriff's office wanted to do it," Lane said. "Some parents felt uncomfortable because sheriffs were there . . . and thought something could have been wrong."

Ninety-four cars were checked, with three summonses and one warning issued, Hilliard said. "I'm pleased at those numbers. Zero would be great for me," he said.

Minors under the age of 18 get a $50 fine for a first offense of not wearing a seatbelt and $100 each time following.

Senior Kyla Pouliot did not get checked but said she heard about it from friends.

"Some of the students that got ticketed were really mad . . . basically because they weren't told," she said.

Single page