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Editorial
New chief, new beginning
It might be overstating to say that with the start of
Chief Gregory Begin’s tenure as chief of the Weare
Police Department comes the dawn of a new era. But it
will probably seem that way to many in town.
For years now, the department has been seen as something
less than perfect. But with new leadership, there’s
a chance to change that public image.
Certainly, the force is staffed by competent officers
who do a good job ensuring the safety of Weare residents.
But a new chief can be a new beginning. We
hope Begin – as he promises – will be more open to
the community than Myles Rigney ever was. That in
itself will be a huge change.
Better communication will mean residents will begin
to see the department in a new light. That, in turn, will
raise morale on the force. That can only be a good thing
for the town and people of Weare.
-Christine Heiser
Letters
Thanks for vote and support
To the Editor:
I would like to take the time
to thank your for your vote and
support.
I will look forward to serving
you as your selectman. My
focus is the future.
In 2005 let’s move forward to
make Weare a more positive
town and work together.
If I can help you in any way,
call 529-5725.
Donna Osborne, Weare
Lucien Beaudette will be greatly missed by community
To the Editor:
On March 8, the Goffstown
Main Street community lost a
longtime member.
Lucien Beaudette, a retired
meat cutter from Sully’s, passed
away unexpectedly.
Lou had recently retired from
Sully’s after working as a meat
cutter for more than 50 years.
Everyone joked that Lou
“came with the building.” He
worked at Champagne’s Grand
Union, which became Mike’s
IGA, which became what we
know today as Sully’s.
Lou felt that he had a second
family at Sully’s. After his
retirement, he often filled in
when someone went on vacation
or was sick.
He was a man who truly
enjoyed and loved his work. He
never once complained about it.
Often, he’d tell his younger coworkers
stories about growing
up on the west side of
Manchester, or when he was in
the Navy during World War II.
Lou always looked forward to
the next day. He was great with
the customers and friendly to
everyone. When I used to go to
Sully’s, I remember seeing him
stocking the meat case or cutting
steaks. He always had a
smile.
He was one of those people
who simply loved life. I know
he will be greatly missed at
Sully’s and among the
Goffstown Main Street community
as much as he is missed in
my family.
Jessica Beaudette, Weare
Showerman has done much for community, needs our prayers
To the Editor:
The light of day grows longer.
The songs of the birds hint of
spring in the morning.
The Christian faith communities
of our town celebrate
Easter, and Judaism observes
Purim this week.
Youth baseball tryouts begin
though the snow still lingers.
Each is a welcome sign of a
faith and active hope for a fresh
season of new life just ahead.
May I ask everyone in the
greater Goffstown area to
extend your prayers and active
hope to the Showerman family
as Collett battles serious illness?
Collett, through countless acts
of outreach and charity over a
period of decades, has been a
window through which that
light, that song, that sign of faith
and hope has shown.
Whether it was providing
compassion or food, furniture or
relief, here in Goffstown or at
“Ground Zero,” Collett has been
one of the rare and wonderful
ones who fully understood that
extending generosity and care is
the way to a life of wholeness
for others as well as for oneself.
Where need was present, she
has always offered help.
Please keep her and her family
in your prayers of thanksgiving
and love this week.
This community owes a great
debt of gratitude to Collett
Showerman.
The Rev. William E. Exner, Goffstown
Agricultural committee forming to support local farmers
To the Editor:
I would like to let people
know about an agricultural
committee in Goffstown that is
just getting started.
Many people in town seem to
be of the opinion that agriculture
is gone from town. At one
time, Goffstown had a large
poultry industry, with over
10,000 chickens, from the
1930s into at least the 1960s – a
peak of 57,000 fowl in 1944!
There were also a number of
dairy farms. Those large, traditional
farms are no longer here,
but there are still quite a few
active agricultural operations in
town.
Some are well known, e.g. the
Devriendt farm stand on Mast
Road and the Berry Good Farm
on Parker Road. But there are
also a number of others that specialize
in horse boarding, beekeeping
and the raising of cattle,
sheep or goats.
We have a few apple
orchards, a fruit and vegetable
farm, a number of tree farms,
and various hay fields.
If we want to see these places
survive over the coming
decades, we need to encourage
them as a community.
Look at what the Main Street
Program has done for downtown
– that’s an example of
how businesses can thrive when
a town is supportive.
Goffstown is rewriting its
Master Plan this year, so there is
an opportunity to incorporate
“farm-friendly” policies.
There will be a meeting, sponsored
by the conservation commission,
on Thursday, March
31, at 7 p.m., at Town Hall to
form this committee. The meeting
is open to the public and we
encourage anyone involved in
agricultural operations in
Goffstown to attend. Anyone
with questions can call me at
774-6224.
Jason Sachs
Passage of act will prove that we care about our children
To the Editor:
Eleven million American children
do not have access to the
health care they need. Children
are being left behind in this
country and it is about time we
did something about it.
Sen. John Kerry, in keeping
with his campaign promise to
fight for health care for all
Americans, has introduced
S.114 the Kids Come First Act.
This legislation will expand
health care coverage to children
who are in desperate need of our
help.
Currently over 500,000
Americans have co-sponsored
this bill on the senator’s Web
site. Many organizations,
including the American
Federation of Teachers, the
March of Dimes, the National
Association of Children’s
Hospitals, the National
Association of Community
Health Centers and the National
Association of Public Hospitals
and Health Systems also support
the Kids Come First Act.
Additionally, over 15,000
Americans have recorded messages
through the initiative on
the senator’s Web site telling
people their personal stories and
why they support expanding
health care to American children.
There is little coverage of the
Kids Come First Act in the
media, but 500,000 ordinary
Americans have taken the time
to read about S.114 and to cosponsor
this important legislation.
This makes a strong statement
that we Americans do care about
our children, their health and the
future of our country.
Ann Riley, Goffstown
The juvenile justice system in place now is working well
To the Editor:
Although it has been several
years since I worked in the juvenile
division, I still find that
many people usually don’t
understand the juvenile justice
system.
The juvenile justice system in
New Hampshire is not aimed at
punishing the juvenile offender
but instead, trying to ensure that
the “juvenile becomes a worthy
citizen.”
The juvenile justice system is
not penal but protective in
nature. The juvenile system also
guarantees the child their
Constitutional rights, and protects
them from adult offenders.
With that being said, it could
be easy to understand why some
people believe the juvenile system
is too lenient.
Many people perceive the
juvenile justice system as too
weak and incapable of bringing
a youthful offender to justice.
The courts and New
Hampshire Legislature view it
in a very different way. They
believe that the offender should
be afforded every opportunity to
learn to correct their behavior
before being taken out of the
very society they will soon be
part of.
There are two classifications
of children within the juvenile
system. The are “child in need
of services” (CHINS), and
delinquent children.
A child in need of services is
defined as: “any child under the
age of 18 who is expressly
found to be: subject to compulsory
school attendance and is
habitually truant from school; a
child who habitually runs away
from home, or repeatedly disregards
lawful and reasonable
commands of their parents or
guardians; who exhibits willful
repeated offenses which would
be violations under the criminal
code if they were committed by
an adult; or if the child is found
to be in need of care, guidance,
counseling, discipline, supervision,
treatment or rehabilitation.”
Simply stated, a CHINS is a
child who has committed an
offense that wouldn’t be a crime
if they were an adult or if the
child needs some types of services
provided to them they could
not get otherwise.
The key here is that most of
these offenses need to be done
repeatedly. The delinquent child
is defined as a person who has
committed an offense before
reaching the age of 17 that
would be a felony or misdemeanor
under the criminal code
if committed by an adult.
There are some exceptions to
CHINS and delinquent children.
Those exceptions are when a
child 16 and over violates
motor vehicle, fish and game,
alcohol, OHRV or tobacco laws.
When a child violates any of
those laws, they will appear
before an adult court. Some confusion
arises when someone is
an adult victim or witness to a
crime committed by a juvenile.
Once a proceeding is initiated
against a juvenile, there are several
things that may that place.
The child may elect diversion,
accept a plea bargain or stand
trial for the alleged offense.
Because juvenile proceedings
are confidential and breach of
that confidentiality could result
in criminal prosecution, the victim
or witness will not always
be told of the results of the disposition
of the case. The exception
is diversion.
Diversion is when a child
elects to receive consequences
for their actions outside of the
legal system.
Several things must take place
prior to a child being accepted
into a diversion program.
The child cannot commit an
act of violence against another
person, the child must acknowledge
and take responsibility for
their wrong doing, and the victim
must agree with diversion.
Once the child enters a diversion
program, it is a one-time
chance – the next offense will
find them in juvenile court. If
the child fails to complete and
follow through with any of the
recommendations of diversion,
they are then sent before the
juvenile court.
Punishment with diversion
may consist of restitution, letters
of apology, community
service and research projects
concerning the offense or the
consequences of their actions.
I have seen diversion personnel
correct spelling and punctuation
that would make my college
English professor proud.
Finally, the juvenile justice
system is working. If we look
back, and we don’t have to look
that far back, children today
have different technology, more
media and more opportunities
than we did.
With these advancements
come more supervision and
higher expectations by parents,
laws and society. I was once told
the most effective remedy to
juvenile delinquency is adulthood.
As I look back over the years,
some of the problem kids are
now responsible, caring parents
wanting their best for their children.
Sgt. Pat Sullivan
Goffstown Police Department
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