When The Goffstown News approached the town about making our papers available at the polls on election day, March 14, we were turned down. Your hometown newspaper was informed, not only by Goffstown, but by several other communities, that our papers could be considered “campaign literature” and were not allowed inside the polling place – or even outside its doors – by law.

However, the Goffstown Department of Public Works was allowed to make its “newsletter” available inside Goffstown High School, just several yards from the polling place - just a few feet away from the table containing the Goffstown town reports. Why, you ask, was this a problem?

Did any of you pick one up? It was clearly campaign literature. The “Public Works News,” if you can call it that (though that’s what the DPW calls it), had a front-page story titled “Excavator: The right tool for the job enhances the Road Program.” Inside the four-page DPW propaganda piece is a second headline: “The right equipment saves money,” and another article, this one titled, “About Your Road Program.”

In this article is justification for why you should “spend any more money on roads in Goffstown.”

Article 12 on the warrant asked voters to approve $1.8 million for continuation of the road improvement program. Article 17 asked for approval of $100,000 to purchase an excavator.

This so-called newsletter was aimed solely at convincing voters to approve funds for the road program and for the excavator. And the town allowed it to be available to voters just several yards from the polling booths. Hypocritical, eh? Furthermore, the publication of this newsletter was paid for by you – the taxpaying voter.

Incidentally, the excavator purchase was defeated by voters. The road program received approval. It’s hard to know whether the DPW campaign literature had any influence over the vote.

We hope you have as much of a problem with this as we do. Even if you disagree with allowing the local newspaper inside the school during voting, a clearly biased “newsletter,” put out by the town at the townspeople’s expense, shouldn’t have been allowed there either.

— Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski, Managing Editor Christine Heiser and News Editor Susan Clark.

To the Editor:
I would like to say a public “thank you” to our town moderator, Rodney Stark, for taking the time to listen to me and for being open concerning my unique problem(s) during the busy voting period on Tuesday, March 14.

Barbara Barbour
Goffstown

To the Editor:
With the election over and the results tallied, there can be little doubt how Goffstown voters feel about the selectmen’s attempt to consolidate the police and fire departments. The effort to hire enough firefighters to make 24/7 a reality also failed, though, leaving us essentially back where we started after last March’s election. Residents want more comprehensive emergency coverage, yet are not willing to pay for it through higher property taxes.

The way in which the selectmen tried to implement their consolidation scheme was inexcusable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were wrong.

They raised some valid points regarding the frequency and nature of emergency calls when they finally got around to presenting their reasoning to the public in a couple of letters to the editor of The Goffstown News. My point here isn’t that I’m either for or against consolidation.

My point is simply that few of us have enough information to make that decision.

Now that Selectmen McRae and Wheeler are gone, the town essentially has a chance to start over on this issue, if the rest of the participants (or should I say combatants?) on both sides of the argument can get past the ill will that has characterized what passes for discussion recently. The problem of how to secure the emergency coverage we want at a price we’re willing to pay remains. But maybe now the selectmen can approach this dilemma as they should have in the first place.

It is my hope: that the selectmen will form a committee with representatives from fire and police, the budget committee and a few disinterested citizens to study our options for emergency services; that the committee will explore the creation of a single public safety entity as one of several options; that the committee will draft a report written in clear, readable English (not governmental gobbledy-gook) recommending a single model, and that the report will include a discussion of how this model would be implemented in Goffstown, how it has worked in other communities, and what the financial impact will be to the town; and finally that the report will be made public and that the selectmen will hold well-publicized hearings before making a final decision that allow residents (preferably ones not associated with either the town government or with the fire or police departments) to ask questions and provide feedback. It should go without saying that all of this work should be open to the public. Those of us not able to actually attend committee meetings should be able to read updates of the committee’s work in The Goffstown News, which has a responsibility to do more than reiterate the barbs exchanged between Bob Wheeler and Frank Carpentino.

I can hardly believe such a decision-making model was not employed in the first place, but after the fiasco of last fall and the lead-up to this election, I can only conclude those involved with this issue have taken momentary leave of their senses. The selectmen have been politically maladroit (at the very least), but I am also concerned the firefighters have been provoked into overstating their case.

Regardless of the bad blood that has been spilled, it is time to move beyond the blame game and start looking seriously and responsibly at the tough decisions we face as a community.

Elizabeth Dubrulle
Goffstown

To the Editor:
This is a heart-wrenching story of what occurred on election day, March 11, 2006, while the Medvil vote was taking place.

A resident in a wheelchair decided to take a ride to the Medford Farms Club house to look for his wife who had gone there to vote. The rule of the day was that there was to be no picketing during the balloting.

He was not aware of this, so unknowingly he had a “vote no” sign on the back of his chair.

When he arrived at the driveway to the club house, there were four men standing there with a police officer on the platform by the door. Immediately, he was approached by two of the four men. He was told he had better leave or they were going to have the policeman come down and make him leave. At that point he wheeled himself around to the mail house where he recognized a lady he knew who resides in the park. All four men then came over, and once again told him to leave. The lady tried to explain that the man in the wheel chair didn’t know what he had done wrong. She kept repeating, “He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know.”

This man had a stroke a year ago this month. It affected his whole right side, and left him with aphasia. For those of you who do not understand what aphasia is, it is any partial or total loss of the ability to express ideas resulting from brain damage.

He spent the whole summer of 2005 in therapy in order to regain some mobility and recover part of his speech. This was after a three week hospital stay. The man had no defense against these cruel, boorish individuals.

What makes this story so incredible is that one of the four bullies was well aware of this man’s physical impairment, but continued to harass him. And just what did they think this handicapped man was going to do to four able-bodied men?

What were they afraid of? All they had to do was speak kindly, not threaten. Actions really do speak louder than words. It’s a pretty sorry situation when a caring, gentle lady has to come to the defense of an incapacitated person because he cannot protect himself from these domineering people. This is only one horrific chapter which is a result of this Medvil predicament.

These same people are from the group that was quoted in The Union Leader as saying, “If a resident needs financial help or a ride to the doctor, we will have a special assistance committee for them. We want this to be a community where neighbor cares for neighbor.”

Does this sound like “special assistance and neighbor helping neighbor”? As long as I’ve resided here we have always helped our neighbors. This is nothing new. What has happened to honor, integrity, and fair play in this park? It must be that it’s all about winning, no matter what the cost to your fellow human being.

By the way, in case you are wondering how I know this man so well, he just happens to be my husband of 47 years.

Elaine B. Garland

To the Editor:
Thank you supporters!

The Professional Firefighters of Goffstown would like to express its sincerest thanks to all of the people and businesses that have supported us through all that has happened since November 2005. It is comforting to know that the people we protect are willing to step up and support us when we need it.

We wish it were possible to send a personal word of thanks to each and every one who voiced an opinion, signed a petition, displayed a sign, wore a button, or voted for our future, but we can’t as you might guess that would be a daunting task for us. Please know you have our heartfelt thanks.

Congratulations to Mr. Campasano and Mr. Caprio! The Professional Firefighters of Goffstown look forward to working with the “new” board of selectmen to move forward with the needs of the community and of the fire department.

Again, thank you Goffstown for your support.

Bill Connor
Goffstown

To the Editor:
Although I did not win the race for Goffstown Selectman, I want to thank all those that voted for me. I am humbled by and appreciative of your show of support. It meant a lot to me.

I would like to thank the voters for passing the budgets, the road plan, the DPW and police collective bargaining contracts, Main Street and most of the planning board articles.

I am disappointed, however, that articles 13, 14, 15, TIF, the Tax Incentive Fund plan, did not pass. They were pro-taxpayer and pro-business initiatives that would have offered a break to the taxpayers by expanding the commercial tax base by encouraging businesses to locate in Goffstown. Maybe next year, with more thorough explanation, they will pass.

Also unfortunate was the defeat of article 16, the Grasmere Town Hall capital reserve fund. Grasmere Town Hall is a historic Goffstown site that should be preserved. The funds requested in article 16 were for the second year of a three year plan to collect funds to leverage grant money for renovations such as handicap accessibility for the second floor meeting room that has a capacity to hold 200 people. It also asked for permission to appoint the board of selectmen as agents to expend from the fund. Something the voters were not of a mind to do.

I would like to take this opportunity, as well, to thank out-going Selectmen Robert Wheeler and Gossett McRae.

These two gentlemen served our town well. They worked hard to keep our taxes down and did a darn good job of it. I will miss them and wish them well in their future endeavors.

I congratulate and wish the selectmen candidates, as well as all those elected, the best of luck in their tenures. It’s not an easy job, and you can’t make everyone happy, but I’m sure you’ll do the best you can for our great town.

Pam Manney
Goffstown

To the Editor:
First of all I would like to congratulate both Thomas Clow and Leon Methot on their election and re-election to the Weare Board of Selectmen. I am confident that Weare is in good hands with you both, but I’ll be watching.

Secondly I want to thank everyone who came out and supported my efforts. I am touched by the words of encouragement I received after the candidates night, and grateful for supporters who went out of their way to come up to me and shake my hand on election day. It was really a gratifying experience and you all made it worth the effort. I might even be tempted to try it again some time, good grief!

Keith R. Lacasse
Weare