Local police chiefs said they will have no other option but to cancel mutual aid agreements with Webster if the town's last remaining officer is laid off or takes another job.
Without a certified police officer in Webster, surrounding communities would not have the legal standing to send their own officers to the town for an emergency.
Since March, selectmen in Webster have tried to grapple with a $110,000 cut to the budget imposed by voters at town meeting. Some residents have argued that the selectmen promised at the meeting that public safety budgets would not be cut. But selectmen say the cut was too large to spare the police department.
Just before the cut, the department was staffed by Chief Brian Milano, one lieutenant, one secretary, and three full-time and two part-time officers. Between resignations and budget cuts, only one certified officer remains with the help of an "officer-in-charge" who handles administrative duties but does not patrol. Town officials are unsure whether there will be enough money to keep the remaining officer on staff through the end of the year.
Departments from surrounding communities have been keeping an eye on staffing issues in Webster and considering how it may affect their role as mutual aid partners.
"Unfortunately, that is Webster's issue, not Hopkinton's," said Hopkinton police Chief David Wheeler. "We do not take calls, we will not take calls in the town of Webster. We only back them up, that's what mutual aid is all about."
Other law enforcement officials in the area echo his sentiment: Webster must be responsible for its own policing because no one has resources to spare.
"What we won't do is we won't handle their police work for them," said Concord police Chief Robert Barry. "In no way, shape, or form will we patrol or handle investigations in the town of Webster. We don't have any jurisdiction or any intention of handling any responsibility of the Webster police."
The state police and the Merrimack County Sheriff's Office said they will try to pick up slack in the area but under no circumstances will they devote an officer to the town.
"I'm a little concerned," said Sheriff Scott Hilliard. "Most people want to know - at least most people I know - want to know when they pick up the phone, police will be there."
Hilliard watched at Webster's town meeting as the budget was cut. He went to the meeting at the request of Milano to quell rumors that the sheriff's department would step in if the entire department was eliminated.
"I went quickly to dispel that rumor," Hilliard said. "One, we don't have the resources; two, it's not our responsibility."
Milano resigned earlier this month over disagreements with selectmen.
In a letter of resignation, Milano, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, alleged that selectmen Chairman Tom Mullins made disparaging remarks about his religion. Mullins said he never spoke about religion. Milano also said selectmen created a hostile work environment by interfering with administrative decisions usually left to the chief.
Within days of leaving the job in Webster, Milano was hired by Hilliard as a deputy county sheriff. He's responsible for patrolling all areas of Merrimack County, including Webster, Hilliard said.
State police backup
With Milano's departure, Lt. Philip Mitchell has been left to handle all police calls - that means everything from animals on the loose to criminal investigations.
When the department was fully staffed, Webster made infrequent use of mutual aid. The Concord police have responded there only once so far this year, records show. The Hopkinton police have answered only a handful of calls there, Wheeler said.
Now, with only one officer, things have changed. (next page »)
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Comments
Cops in town
By xaktrooper - 10/30/2009 - 5:39 pmThere is no reason the selectmen can't advertise for one or two Police persons for our town. There is no reason these applicants can't be paid for 40 hr weeks with 24 hr standby being paid for callouts, sharing standby and working out their own schedules to cover the town as their judgement dictates. Will this give us 24/7 coverage? sort of.. but with a small town It is probably all we can afford. It is all I want to afford. I am very happy to live in a town and a home I can afford. Protecting your property and your family is your responsibility. Take this responsibility and quit whining. If you want lots of cops move to a town where they exist. If you want a swimming pool move to a town that has one or put one in your own backyard. I don't have a problem with one or two cops, I don't have a problem paying them very well for honest hard work. The job is hours of boredom followed by moments of extreme danger. There are guys and gals out there wanting this work. Find them, hire them ,and pay them well. This whole subject is getting very tiresome,divisive,and counterproductive. This is not rocket science folks. Calm down, take a breath and solve this with common sense and civility.
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Response to Cops in town
By Elle2 - 10/30/2009 - 7:33 pmHave you been to a Selectman's meeting, Sir or Madame?
Do you know the FISCAL side of this issue?
Stating and publishing your opinion and/or facts is not synonymous with whining or being non-civil...
If it were, I would accuse you of whining and having no common sense, too...
Get yourself down to the Selectman's meeting...
If you are so concerned with how your tax money is spent, you need to see how much we will LOSE in the long run over this fiasco...
MOST of the people in this forum are NOT asking for a local PD filled with pork...
Only for adequate police protection as you state here...
AND for our Selectmen to be accountable for their actions...
Respectfully, the tone of your response only adds to to the divisiveness...
Everyone has the right to voice their opinion whether you agree with them or not..
Respectfully,
Your Neighbor
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Elle 2
By Good Thoughts - 11/01/2009 - 5:34 pmHow many selectmen's meetings have you attended? And for how long? A couple weeks, months or has it been YEARS?
Respectfully speaking of course, have you truly listened to all sides of this issue? Did you attend the Budget meetings last year? Did you even attend any selectmen's meetings last year? Or did you just start going?
Is it really the Selectmen that need to be accountable for their actions ...... or is it the townspeople?
And what is the fiscal side of this issue, I'm really interested in hearing what your facts are?
At this point, there are some people that have truly lost and I'm not sure you (or many other people in this town) have any clue to what has been lost.
In my opinion it appears that there are a couple of people that keep expressing the same old same old. Reminds me of a broken record. I've heard it not only on this blog but at the selectmen's meetings. Enough is enough. Let's allow Mr. Gross to do what he has been asked to do.
I agree with the "aktrooper" and "myownvoice" it is time we take responsibility for our own actions, opinions, and start volunteering! They both said it well.
I realize you are concerned, but your tone isn't always the kindest. So before we criticize "AKtrooper" let's look in the mirror.
WISE WORDS FOR ALL OF US
GOD GAVE US ALL TWO EARS TO HEAR WITH ....... AND ONLY ONE MOUTH WE CAN SHUT!
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Back at you Good Thoughts!
By Elle2 - 11/02/2009 - 5:47 am1. Selectmen Meetings attended - Not as many as some but more than most.
2. I have listened to all sides VOICES and I always do. Did not attend Budget Meetings.
3. I believe if you look at my earlier posts, I am on the record as saying the Towns People need to accept responsibility and part of that is to voice our opinions and stay active as MANY are doing now, on both sides of the fence...
4. Tell us what the people who have truly lost have lost. I believe you when you say that. Please, if you can, tell us what these things are...
5. I intend, as I have said before, to allow Mr. Gross to do his job. But doesn't it make you question the Selectmen's actions that so contributed to it getting to the point of having to hire a consultant at all?
6. I have volunteered in town and will continue to do so. I just BET you have too...For some reason...So thanks(:o)
7. No my tone isn't always the kindest, but I have TRIED to keep it respectful..
Sorry you don't see it that way...I promise to be more conscious of it and thanks so much!
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Consultant
By pillsburylake - 10/30/2009 - 11:05 amConsultant pay: $28 per hour. 20 hours per week.
That's over $5000 until the end of the year.
To retain our officer we needed $7000 until the end of the year.
The fire department had offered $2000 toward the $7000.
That left $5000 we needed to retain our officer, we didn't have the money.
But we have that same exact amount, if not more, to pay a consultant.
A consultant is nice, but he isn't providing us any police protection.
Hmmm
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Response to Consultant 2
By Elle2 - 10/30/2009 - 7:15 pmI'm not sure how long Don Gross will need to be on the payroll...
He is supposed to present a preliminary report at BOS meeting Monday...
But your payroll numbers are right on...
We have LOST money due to this whole fiasco...
We will probably lose more due to police training expenses and the like...
Please come to the Selectman Meeting Monday night to make your voice heard and to learn more...
Thanks again for being involved...
Respectfully,
Your PL Neighbor
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State Police and Sheriff coverage?
By larryfine - 10/29/2009 - 10:05 pmKeep dreaming! The State Police have 2-3 troopers to cover the ENTIRE county, and the Sheriff's Dept. hasn't done real police work in decades; all they do is serve papers and transport prisoners. When is the last time a deputy stopped a car for a moving violation? HA!
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HA
By djsteve321 - 10/29/2009 - 2:15 pmI wouldn't want to live in Webster right now.
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Consultant
By pillsburylake - 10/29/2009 - 12:32 pmIs the consultant a volunteer?
I do not understand how we couldn't find $7000 to keep our officer through the end of the year, but we suddenly have the funds available to pay a consultant?
How much is this costing?
Where is the money coming from?
When I mentioned the state police responding to an incident in Pillsbury Lake I was just trying to say that they ARE responding, they sent an adequate number of officers, in an adequate time frame. I think we can rest a little easier knowing they ARE responding to our needs. A few days ago there were 4 state police cars responding to another incident in Pillsbury Lake. Of course, this wasn't after midnight either.
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Response to Consultant
By Elle2 - 10/29/2009 - 7:39 pmThanks so much for your interest and inquiries into this mess!
1. Don Gross is our Hired Consultant - Call him 648-2200 for answers to what he is being paid etc.. Also to let your voice be heard relative to what you would like to see the new Webster PD look like...
2. Your Selectman - Call them at (648-2272) for answers to funding...
3. Please come to the next Board of Selectmen Meeting on Monday Nov. 2nd at 7:00 PM at Webster Town Hall lower level...
Respectfully,
A PLD Neighbor
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Elle2
By WildNHBlackBears - 11/01/2009 - 3:59 pmWith all due respect, you posts sound like you are moderating the forum. Are you planning to run for Selectman? The tone of your posts makes me think you are quite qualified.
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Response to WildNHBlackBears
By Elle2 - 11/02/2009 - 6:37 amNO WAY I'm running for selectmen! No WAY!
Just hoping we have one or two or three or more qualified candidates and trying to get the information out and get more folks out to the meetings...
That way they can listen and make their own decision(s)..
I need to heed my own words, yes?
And I think ALL of us need to be heartened by what appears to be some NEW voices here...
TOGETHER we can work it out...
Are YOU running, WNHBB???
Respectfully,
Elle2
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Most People Are basically Good
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/29/2009 - 11:02 amI think most people are basically good, and have good intentions. Sometimes, they just don
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Richard
By pillsburylake - 10/29/2009 - 12:37 pmRichard,
Your numbers here send a message that 5 police officers is far to many for our small town. We had fewer calls for service than any of these small towns. I agree this is to much for 1 officer to handle, especially with no support from the selectmen, but seems like 5 is to many. Maybe next annual meeting we can shoot for a happy medium?
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Correct!
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/29/2009 - 3:34 pmI think 3 would be best for us, but I'm no expert. That's Don Gross' call.
Thanks!
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HOME PRICES IN WEBSTER
By blueboy - 10/28/2009 - 4:23 pmTIMBER!!!!!!!!!
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For those of you who don't
By Surleyman - 10/28/2009 - 10:31 amFor those of you who don't know...the thirteen year old was not just being investigated for the theft of a bottle of water....there were numerous burglaries at the Community building and the Pillsbury Lake Water District maintenance building over the past couple of months. There was more than one individual involved. Had the "kids" involved not been caught, how long do you suppose it would be before they "graduated" to home burglary?
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We can solve this
By MyOwnVoice - 10/28/2009 - 7:55 amThis is more divisive than it should or had to be. Alarmists and conspiracy buffs do no better than create fear and break trust between neighbors. What value is there in demeaning and belittling people for simply their different opinion, citing selected statistics to scare people, playing the useless blame game. What
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Response to We can solve this
By Elle2 - 10/28/2009 - 8:40 pmThank you! Your post here makes A LOT of good points especially the necessity of respect for others, acceptance of differences, logical thinking and rolling up your sleeves to help. Unfortunately, one of our Selectmen must not agree with us for he rarely(if ever) utilizes ANY of these tactics. He is a town official who practices the belittling and demeaning type of behavior you mention here IN PUBLIC FORUMS and elsewhere. This is unacceptable to me, as is the message he sends to our children. I don't understand why my saying that could possibly break trust with my neighbors, but if it does, I apologize, because one of the most important reasons why I continue to remain active in this situation is because I CARE about my neighbors. Unfortunately, life is not as simple as it used to be. I have volunteered at the school but still couldn't come CLOSE to replacing a PAID professional, if I tried to clean up my road I would be accused of tampering with town property, I have sat on boards and been belittled and badgered because of it (but HEY! I asked for it so NO WHINING HERE!), I have helped my neighbors and continue to do so. I am not naive enough to think that this had a huge impact on town services or taxes but do hope it helped in some small way. I am also not naive enough to think that neighbors helping neighbors is enough to keep everyone SAFE in today's world and neither is a police department of 1 man. But I encourage everyone to try your suggestions at some point, as I am sure A LOT of you have. (Please exercise caution on the road thing, though. You don't want to tick off the Road Agent HA and (;o)). Thomas Payne was RIGHT and so is your premise that the people of Webster can solve this together. Soooooooooo... See you all at the next Selectman's Meeting? Can't make it, huh? See you all at Town Election and Town Meeting, then? I sure HOPE SO. P.S. ALL Opinions Welcome
Respectfully,
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Thank you!
By MyOwnVoice - 10/29/2009 - 9:41 amI appreciate and applaud your efforts to help at school and maintain our roads. Helping is not a contest of how much or how well. Each individual
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Once Again
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/28/2009 - 10:43 amOnce again, this is not being an alarmist, making up numbers, or dreaming up a conspiracy. Scaring people is to speculate that the government MAY set up death panels to pull the pull on Grandma if they decide she doesn't qualify for health insurance.
Quoting numbers from police records are FACTS that anyone can look up by finding the web sites for small NH towns, and looking into the police section of the town reports. YOU can put your head in the sand, call it creating fear, or whatever, but it's just being a realist.
Realists look at the facts and do something about it. NH is a beautiful state, and the small towns look picturesque when you drive through them! But don't be fooled! There's hundreds, sometimes thousands ofcalls placed to the police in each town, each year.
There is still a great deal of vounterism going on, but citizens should not revert back to the wild west and form vigilante groups, or take the law into their own hands. Police work should be left up to experienced, trained professionals who risk their well-being while protecting the public.
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Andover has 4 Police
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/27/2009 - 7:58 pmI'll correct myself. Andover has 4 police, like you found on their website. We're not asking for 5, however or even 4. 2 FT and 1 PT would be better than the one lone officer we have now!
Sorry I got upset about your comment "anyone can pull out numbers". But I just looked at page 55 of the Andover Town Report (Police report section) you mention. LOOK AT THE ACTVITY !! WOW! Andover is a beautiful, small, sleepy town like Webster. But don't let the beauty fool you!
On page 55 you'll find in 2007 Andover (4 police) handled 2,492 calls for service! In 2008 their 4 police handled 2,714 calls! Look at the typical small town activity! Samples:
Domestic disputes, traffic summons, suspicious persons, assist the fire department, assist on ambulance calls. it goes on an on. The economy is bad. When that happens crimes thefts, domestic disputes go UP not DOWN!
So anyone can PLAINLY see if you check out Police reports in small town Town Reports town police are very busy. Is a light bulb going on yet with any of you anti-police people?
How can 1 officer in Webster handle this type of activity? (In 2007 Webster had 1,337 calls for service) I really hope your family never needs police response in the middle of the night. Please think again about the need for police.
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I did not mean to offend you
By APG03825 - 10/27/2009 - 9:57 pmI did not mean to offend you with that point in my comment and if I did I apologize. I was simply trying to state that their are facts, figures, and statistics that will support both sides of this argument and it will not end until both sides agree to listen to each other. I do not live in Webster (not even in the area anymore) but I do believe as I have stated in my comments on previous articles that if Mr. Gross is allowed to perform a neutral study of the situation as he has apparently been hired to do his recommendation after wards will be what is in the best interest of ALL involved. As far as Andover numbers go I knew them prior to visiting the site as I was involved in the hiring of Officers Shaw and Hewitt and the promotion of Sgt. Mahoney during my tenure as a selectman. This also is how I know that no matter what happens their will always be people on both sides of the argument that are not happy with the end result. As an earlier poster stated the voters approved the cuts and as you stated by a slim majority, how many voters were at town meeting? How many voters were not there and are now upset? The people of NH and the US are taking their democratic responsibilities for granted and will eventually lose their rights if this does not change. How many times in history class did we hear about a government of the people, you can not have that if you do not play an active role and though some may disagree with you it is in everyone's interest to let their voices and votes be heard.
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Time to start packing and strapping heat!
By ArmyVet_72 - 10/27/2009 - 4:54 pmWhen seconds count, Police are minutes away! In Webster's case, more than likely 30 minutes.
Time for the good citizens of Webster to start packing and strapping heat provided they have safely secured their weapons from children and have taken a safety course.
I myself prefer the Taurus Judge, their new line of personal protection models called the Public Defender. A nice 5 shot revolver that shoots 410 shotgun shells and 45 long colts, handles nicely in close quarters such a homes and vehicles.
The Public Defender preferred load is called the Judge Load, one 410 rifle slug, one 45 long colt, one 410 3 owt buck, 4 shot and a 6 shot. The perp busting into your house to do you harm will never know what load is coming out of that barrel!
Nothing like a Public Defender sitting ready at a moments notice, when Police are minutes away!
A public service announcement from your responsible and legally armed citizen.
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Did the people...
By 603Lady - 10/27/2009 - 3:15 pm....Not consider adding a part time force with maybe just one or two full time officers? That way, you don't have to offer health insurance and such? Granted, you may turn over staff now and then but it would save money and at least have people on staff.
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Smart
By localjoe - 10/27/2009 - 1:20 pmWebster is going to regret cutting their Police force. They think that if they need Police they can just call the State Police and save some money that way. Well the State Police may have some travel time which could be anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on where they are. Webster may not be a high crime area but that one time somebody is going to need the Police fast. Now thanks to the Concord Monitor every criminal that read the paper knows that there is no Police coverage in Webster. Free for all.
Also if you read the article the State Police and the Sheriffs office would respond to emergencies but they will not commit any officer to the town. So if you live in Webster and you were a victim of a crime there be nobody there to investigate you complaint. So if your house gets burglarized, your car gets broken into, your property is damaged, your neighbors are being loud,
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Police Coverage
By Niesiepoo - 10/27/2009 - 12:56 pmEven the smallest town (rural as it may be) needs a police force. Granted, we did not need 5 officers as we had, but being down to ONE officer is unbelievably irresponsible.
It is sad that it may take a horrific tradgedy such as what happened recently in Mont Vernon (a small Webster like town), the heart wrenching case of child abuse in Webster this year, or even in Wolfeboro where Stacey Burns was murdered in her own home which is on the major street through town!
Lets also not forget the ice storm that all New Hampshire residents went through last year. My fiancee and I were without power for 6 days and did not stay in our home. Not once did we question our neighborhood to be safe as at that time we had a Police force that was "maning the town" and checking neighborhoods and on the town residents.
In this current economy it would be foolish to think that thieves would not be tempted to break into homes off the beaten path or perhaps right on the main road. No lights, no power, no one home, no police, no problem!
The underlying problem with our small town seems to be the ones in charge of it. Our Selectman Chair is an extremely rude, condescending individual who in my opinion and I believe in the opinion of many others needs to "respecfully step down".
To all those Webster residents who are reading the same headlines in the paper and who are attending the Selectmen meetings, or even just reading the minutes just remember that EVERY vote counts and it may be YOUR vote that could make or break a vital decision in our town.
In this time more than ever is when we should be watching out for our neighbors and being proactive about our safety! Everyone is entitled to their opinion in this forum, but I believe if it was your town that was going through this you would not be making the same nasty comments.
To all fellow Webster residents who are as disgusted with the current situation as I am see you at the town meeting in March!
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Submit your letter to Webster Grapevine?
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/28/2009 - 10:32 amNeisiepoo: would you be willing to submit your excellent letter to the Webster Grapevine? You make very important points that the residents need to hear, as well as the CM readers.
The email address to submit letters is: boswebvine@juno.com
please do it soon, the next Grapevine will be published 11/1/09.
Thank you
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Richard, Thank you for your
By Niesiepoo - 10/28/2009 - 11:53 amRichard, Thank you for your intrest in my posting. I have sent it off via email to "The Grapevine" this morning.
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Prize for Best Letter!
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/28/2009 - 6:58 amNiesiepoo: You win the prize for the best letter in the Blog! Well thought out letter!
The biggest problem Webster has is night time response. There is no mutual aid, if an officer is not on duty, so 911 calls will go to the state police. After midnight there are only 2 state police covering a large area on duty according to Phil Mitchell.
Currently the selectmen have hired a police consultant, Donald Gross, who is evaluating our situation and listening to our citizens concerns. Please, if you are worried about Webster
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What a Mess!!!
By waldengirl - 10/27/2009 - 12:39 pmI'm glad that I don't live in Webster!
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Emergency?
By pillsburylake - 10/27/2009 - 11:13 amIf it's a serious emergency, the troopers are coming - about a week ago there were 3 state police cars at Pillsbury Lake. I thought somebody had died, or there was an armed home invasion, or something horrific. Turns out a 12 year old had stolen a bottle of water from the clubhouse. That is a "serious emergency"??
I do believe that was a situation that required police, but 3 troopers seemed excessive. If there are 3 troopers available to respond to a situation like that I think we are all going to be ok.
Also, I think we need to impeach Selectman Mullins. He has done nothing good for this town. He is a condesending man with his own agenda.
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Before you condemn the state police
By glk.interests - 10/27/2009 - 11:55 amBefore you condemn the state police for sending too many troopers, you perhaps need to know what information was available to the dispatcher.
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ABSOLUTELY!
By WildNHBlackBears - 03/08/2010 - 10:08 amThe State Police only know what they have been told. I for one, am grateful they responded as quickly as they did. I hope they recoup some of their costs in fines though. No crime, no matter how trivial, should be left unpunished. So, what if it was a bottle of water? That doesn't make it ok. The only message there is that parents aren't on the ball and such attitudes only perpetuate escalated crime!
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posts
By the irishman - 10/27/2009 - 10:32 amDo you people hear yourselves? This is what the town meeting must have sounded like.
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Posts - Response
By Elle2 - 10/29/2009 - 7:30 pmNahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Irishmen...
There weren't this many people at town meeting...
Therein the problem lies...
Should be A LOT more there this year, though, from the sounds of it..
That is a GOOD thing...
You are sooooo F-U-N-N-Y...
And I knew exactly what you meant...
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AND,
By goatroper - 10/27/2009 - 10:32 amWHAT'S YOUR POINT?
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We need to cut more....
By Amy - 10/27/2009 - 10:14 amThis isn't really news. The people of Webster voted to cut the budge adn the selectmen and the police cheif didn't agree so he quit and got another job. Big deal.
I wish my hometown would cut the police budget.
We need to live within our means and every small town in NH is top heavy with police.
If you have ever called the police for help they take a long time because they call for back up. If it is at night that back up comes from another town because all small towns police know that nothing usually happens at night so only one or two cops are on duty at night. But when they do get a call they have to call for backup from another town adn you are stuck there waiting for the police.
Webster needs a small police force to help fill out the paper work after the crime.
Look at Vermont and Maine they don't have police stations in every town like we do.
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Cut More? Ignorance is Bliss!
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/28/2009 - 7:16 amYou have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, and really not worth taking much time to respond! All I can say is Google on small town Reports, and then look up the police reports on each of them! You see hundreds, sometimes thousands of calls for service each year.
Ignorance is Bliss!
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WEBSTER
By blueboy - 10/27/2009 - 10:02 amI bet people are driving very fast in town now. Once they cross the boarder there will be nobody to stop them. Then the traffice accidents will go up. Who will do the accidents reports? You will be on your own.
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speeding
By tomswife - 10/27/2009 - 10:23 amWhen they cross the border into Webster, they are not going any faster than they did when we had 5 or so officers.
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ALL YOU SPEEDERS OUT THERE IN WEBSTER,
By goatroper - 10/27/2009 - 10:16 amSLOW DOWN AND SAY A PRAYER IN MEMORY OF JOSH BOW !!!!
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Josh Bowe
By WildNHBlackBears - 03/08/2010 - 10:07 amThat's Bowe (with an E). The family will be very touched that you remember Joshua. However, his accident had nothing to do with speeding.
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Webster Police
By Surleyman - 10/27/2009 - 9:50 amTrent Spiner needs to start by getting his facts straight. At the time of the last town meeting Webster had 3 full time officers including the chief and Lt, and 2 part-time officers. There is an underlying reason why the Police Dept is now down to 1 officer and a "part-time consultant". One of the Selectmen wanted to destroy the Police Dept and with the aid of some residents did what he set out to do. If we don't have money to pay Police officers then how the hell can we possible afford a "consultant" who does no patrol and has no powers to arrest??..The voters were mislead at town meeting and need to remember that in March. Twenty-four seven Police protection is vital in this day and age...Webster had an excellent department...now what do we have???
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Town of Webster
By nhborn48 - 10/27/2009 - 9:34 amIt's amusing to see so much blame being tossed around. Seems to me, the real blame for what has happened lies on no other than the people in town, those who voted last march and especially those who couldn't be bothered.
When the people in town, those who bothered to show up to vote, vote to cut the safety budget as much as they did, then you have to expect drastic changes. And changes you have. So, you can keep blaming the selectman and the police department, but this problem was created by the voters and non voters. Maybe next march, people will wake up and show up at town meeting.
All i can say for now is, if you are going to be dumb, ya gotta be tough.
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Cause-and-Effect
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/27/2009 - 11:08 amTo oversimplify the tragic situation Webster has right now is like saying "If you don't like it - leave" It's moronic and unthinking. Cause-and-Effect is the relationship between a given outcome and all the factors that influenced
the outcome.
At the Town meeting 2 selectmen ASSURED THE TOWN'S PEOPLE BEFORE THE VOTE WAS TAKEN that any reductions would be spread out. What does that mean? Seems to me it means what it says! Then the vote only passed by 5 votes. Of the 80 who voted to reduce the budget, many who I talked to never in their wildest dreams thought the police would be reduced from 5 to 1! They felt, therefore, that they were mislead.
If that wasn't bad enough, in the months that followed, all of the selectmen were more concerned that we must live within our means on the budget, and not be very concerned as to what was happening to the entire police dept. Their treatment of those left trying to man the fort was deplorable. Finally, when we were down to 1, they hired a police consultant to offer recommendations. It may be too late. We'll see.
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WEBSTER
By goatroper - 10/27/2009 - 2:46 pmWEBSTER was and still is the best town in this state!
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Very misleading headline
By Eben - 10/27/2009 - 8:20 amIt's easy to see why the sensational, fear mongering, circulation boosting headline saying "Chiefs: no police, no coverage" would lead good folk like Richard to think that there's no mutual aid in Webster. However, the headline is talking about what might happen only if there were no full time officer even though Webster DOES have an officer and the mutual aid agreement IS in place. The quote from the local chiefs that "No matter what, they will be there to back up a local officer, state trooper or sheriff's deputy who is in trouble." is buried near the end of the article. Of course, the facts are more boring than the reporter's sensational speculation. Mr. Spiner should be writing for the National Enquirer.
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See Response Below
By SeekerOfTruth - 10/27/2009 - 11:34 amSee "There's no Mutual Aid if there is no officer on Duty" response. yes, we "sort of" have mutual aid during the day when Phil is on duty. But no town is going to take our 911 calls at night when he is not. It was Webster's responsibility to fund a police department, so they could care less.
By the way, we're not making up facts, and "fear mongoring" like when the Repubs said government health/death panels might be set up to pull the plug on old Grandma.
Historical, accurate FACTS have been presented. 1,330 calls in 2007 to the PD happened. Violent crimes were UP due to the bad economy. The LeBlanc child torturing and the Cate slashings with a machette happened.
Look at town reports from other NH towns, and you'll see similar numbers of calls, arrests, MV summons, etc. This isn't fear mongering, or making stuff up!
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Another example of being too cheap
By glk.interests - 10/27/2009 - 8:03 amAnother example of being too cheap and relying too heavily on only one tax -- the local property tax to fund town services.
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