By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

As Gregory Begin takes over the Weare Police Department, New Boston officials begin their search for a new chief in earnest.

Police Chief Gregory Begin worked his last day as head of the New Boston department on Friday, March 18. Begin was elected police chief of Weare, his hometown, on Tuesday, March 8. When Weare made the switch to electing rather than appointing its police chiefs, Begin said he felt an obligation to run since his children are growing up in Weare.

Begin won by a landslide on Election Day.

Although Begin will be finishing the DARE classes at the New Boston Central School, he made an effort to get to Weare as soon as he could. Now, while the search for a new police chief continues, the former Methuen, Mass., chief, Bruce Mac- Dougall, will step in to handle some of the administrative duties that would swamp officers.

“We decided to bring in Bruce MacDougall to assist us until we hire a new chief,” said Town Administrator Burton Reynolds. “The process to hire a new chief is a long one.”

MacDougall is familiar with the department since he performed a report on the department in the summer of 2004 after department unrest caused many closed-door meetings with selectmen. This is one of the reasons Reynolds thought MacDougall was the perfect candidate for interim chief.

The town had found MacDougall through Municipal Resources, Inc. a company that helps towns find police chiefs, among other things. Reynolds said the town will once again be working with the company to try and find a new chief to fill Begin’s shoes.

The New Boston Police Department currently has five full-time police officers, one part-time officer and a full-time administrative assistant.