Faith Muello has been worried that her hometown, Salisbury, with no police force of its own doesn’t have enough cops on patrol.

The small town 20 miles outside of Concord contracts with the New Hampshire State Police for eight hours of police patrols per week and response to emergency calls at a cost of $33,000 per year. The slim police presence is why people whiz past her house, ignoring the 25 MPH speed limit sign, she said.

Muello supported a petitioned warrant article before voters this town meeting to double what it pays to the State Police to boost patrols to 16 hours a week to “ensure the safety of the motoring public and safety of the residents.” The measure is not supported by the Selectmen or the Budget Committee.

What should have remained an issue of civic debate and engaging local politics, has since taken a frightening turn.

That same sign that revealed the speed limit on her 1.5 mile road off Route 127 was cut off by someone and stuck into a snow bank in front of Muello’s house.

“If someone is coming on my property to do something like that,” she said, “what else might they do after coming on my property?”

She called police – the State Police of course since the town has none of its own – to report the incident. A trooper came out and took a report. 

A woman who is no stranger to standing her ground wants her neighbors – the sign cutter or cutters, and those who’ve sent her nasty messages on Facebook – to realize that this kind of behavior is frightening.

“Is this the type of town Salisbury wants to be?” Muello asked. “I don’t think so.”

She had a simple solution to the conflict: “I can’t drive it home enough: If you don’t want this, just go to the town meeting and vote against it. Just stay off my property.”

She was referring to Salisbury’s Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on March 14 at Town Hall. Salisbury uses the meeting’s traditional format, meaning residents will go to the polls and vote for elected officials throughout the day, then congregate to openly vote on a series of warrant articles at night.

Muello says she’s spoken to lots of individuals who support her idea.

She relayed a story about her search for signatures for her petition to get more police coverage in the town.

“We went to the dump,” Muello said. “They were all too afraid. They don’t want to say anything because of harassment. Someone had to speak up for the people who don’t feel they’re safe.”

Muello is a speak-up-for-the-people kind of woman, with plenty to say and life experiences that have shaped her. Still, in the name of cautiousness, she requested that her workplace not be mentioned.

A horse lover, Muello was abused as a teen by her trainer in Massachusetts. In 2016, she rode a horse to the front of the State House in Boston to illustrate the need for strict background checks on horse instructors and trainers.

In 2013, nearly 20 years after the abuse, Charles Leffler was sentenced to two years in prison and probation for indecent assault and battery on Muello. He was 83 years old when he was sentenced. 

“He was doing it in the ‘70s and threatening me with a gun,” Muello said. “That’s why I remained silent for so many years. He’d talk about his gun and say, ‘You never know when I’ll have it.’ ”

She remains an advocate for the end of domestic violence. Being a survivor of abuse, she said the impact of the speed limit sign on her property was magnified.

None of the Select Board members – Chair Brett Walker, John Herbery and Jim Hoyt – returned an email sent to all three and a phone message left for the chair.

At a public hearing earlier this month, Walker addressed the warrant article, saying the idea was impractical.

“I know my personal reason for not recommending this is simply that the state police have not been able to provide the eight hours coverage that we are currently budgeted,” Walker said. “They are shorthanded, and they are, at this point, not able to provide the eight hours that were budgeted, so for me, it’s a pretty simple decision.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to raise another $33,000 if the State Police are not able to provide patrols,” he concluded.

Muello insists that speeding and traffic signs near her house are not a new issue, that residents have said they’d seen this before.

“Everyone I’ve spoken with has said the speeding issue has been ongoing for years,” Muello said.

As for the police report filed after sign-gate, Muello said the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office and the State Police Department’s Troop D were professional and empathetic.

“Good people,” she called them.

Muello hopes her neighbors and fellow residents will see a side to her that they like as well. She’s standing up for her beliefs. She thinks that’s a good way to behave, a direct reflection of this country’s greatness.

It sure beats having a resident plunge a pole on your property in an attempt to shut down democratic debate.

“I’m going to see this through because I’m standing up for those who want the extra police coverage, yet don’t want to become a target as I have become,” Muello said.

“What’s next? Will they kick in my door?”

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