THE CONWAY DAILY SUN, Thursday, January 5, 2012— Page 7
LETTERS
Hale’s pays more than an adequate amount for services Mills has done an outstanding job as our treasurer To the editor: In the 12 years that I have lived in Hale’s Location, it has always amazed me that our neighbors in the valley have such little understanding of our unincorporated town and its governance and finances. Hale’s Location is not a township in Carroll County but rather an unincorporated town. As such we have no elected town selectman but have the three Carroll County commissioners acting as selectmen on our behalf. Hale’s Location pays tuition for each child we enroll in the Conway school system. The rates vary by elementary, middle school, and high school. Presently, we are paying in excess of $32,000 a year for each student we send to Kennett High School. That charge is the highest of all the sending “towns” and the same as what Jackson pays. From articles I have read in The Conway Daily Sun about school finances, that charge is more than the cost per pupil figures cited in budget negotiations. The commissioners negotiate contracts for ambulance service as well as fire and rescue on our behalf. The ambulance contract is with North Conway Ambulance and costs Hale’s taxpayers $37,000 per year. That contract only gives us the privilege of calling North Conway Ambulance and ensures that they will service our residents. The actual charges for the ambulance runs are charged to the insurance providers of the clients they service. Similarly, the commissioners have also negotiated a fire and rescue contract with the town of Conway. Hale’s taxpayers are paying nearly $57,000 per year to the North Conway Water Precinct for fire and rescue service. Law enforcement is provided by the Carroll County Sheriff Department since Hale’s Location is an unincorpo-
rated town in the county. Hale’s has no police department of our own. The fact that there is a mutual aid pact among the local police forces in effect is of course a comfort to residents at Hale’s as it is to Albany, Eaton and other neighboring towns. The fact that the Conway police had responded to one mutual aid call in Hale’s in the last five years should underscore the lack of enforcement requirement that our community places on local law enforcement. Indeed, I would not be surprised if that one call was the only one in the last 12 years. While it is true that dispatch calls for ambulance and fire and rescue place a burden on the 911 monitoring line, it would seem reasonable that any prorated costs of such calls be included in the fees we pay to the ambulance service and the fire and rescue departments. Perhaps the city fathers could discuss this fine point with the commissioners and have these costs explicitly provided for in the contracts. I would also point out that residents of Hale’s Location pay association dues over and above our county taxes to provide for our self-contained water system, our street maintenance and lighting, and our snow plowing requirements. The association contracts directly with Waste Management for our trash removal. None of these services burden Conway in any manner. In summary, Hale’s Location pays for all the services derived from Conway in an agreed upon manner under the supervision of the county commissioners. Instead of getting too good a deal from Conway as alleged in the lead paragraph of the article, Hale’s pays more than an adequate amount for the services we utilize. Richard McClure, president Hale’s Location Owners Association
Many would be valid recipients of Baghdad Bob award To the editor: Remember Muhammed Saeed alSahhaf? Of course you don’t. OK, how about his alias, Baghdad Bob, Saddam Hussein’s P.R. loudmouth who blurted out on Iraqi radio that the Americans were surrendering and burning in their tanks while our troops secured Baghdad and the Iraqi people toppled Saddam’s statues? Yes, that imbecile who thought that he could fool all of the people all of the time. Fast forward to the leadership we have now. After three years of the most mis-managed, crooked, hypocritical, lying bunch of political misfits who are either in jail, pending prosecution, pleading the fifth amendment, or are just plain, (fill in the blanks -----) we have another batch of Baghdad Bobs (Democrats) who are either still blaming Bush or trying to convince enough simpletons among their peers that things are going to get better as long as those evil Republicans don’t regain full control. Their battle cry: “Things would be even worse without us.” So many among the Parasite Party deniers would be valid recipients of a Baghdad Bob award if there was one. Carol Shea Porter for still insisting that the stimulus worked, DNC chairbabe
Debbie Wasserman Schultz for having the audacity of dope to go on Fox news bellowing that unemployment is better now than it was three years ago, Barney Frank for stupefying the public that “Fannie and Freddie” were sound investments shortly before they crumbled. Etc., etc., etc. Locally, if I could award the B.B. trophy to someone, my first choice would be to Ken Mc Kenzie, a regular critic of mine, for refusing to acknowledge the destruction, mayhem, filth, and blatant disregard for the rights of others who wanted no part of their juvenile tantrums. If Ken’s total refusal to condemn the misfits because he just happened to shower first and attend a peaceful OWSer rally in Conway with a handful of protesters, prompts him to believe that all is well among the unwashed masses of useful idiots, then he truly deserves the award. Make no mistake. I have no love for the 1 percent Wall Street fat cats. But I despise the small percentage of “you owe me” deadbeats and losers who steal more from the benefits for the truly needy than any billionaires, the ones who donate millions to worthy causes, could. Bill Catalucci Glen
To the editor: It is time for the chairman of the board of selectmen in Tamworth to resign or be removed from office. His slanderous treatment of our elected treasurer is disgraceful. Chairman Farnum appears to want complete control over all offices in the town of Tamworth, even though he is only an elected official, as is our town treasurer, no more, no less. Mr. Farnums’ interview in a local paper contained slanderous innuendo that followed the lack of details in the selectmen’s meeting notes concerning a letter sent to Mrs. Mills, the treasurer. His comments and lack of accurate information leave residents questioning the integrity of our elected treasurer. He repeatedly stated that he ordered the police chief to deliver a letter to the treasurer, leaving people to wonder why. We wonder why the town is wasting our tax dollars this way. How much has been paid to the town’s attorney to write and send these unnecessary letters? The certified letters to the treasurer were signed for, just not on the selectmen’s unreasonable timetable. Was this not soon enough for Mr. Farnum? Staff in the selectmen’s office could have hand delivered these written communications by walking just a few paces down the hallway, and I am sure Mrs. Mills would have signed a note confirming she had received them. She is there every day. Subsequent requests and responses were demanded in a ridiculous timeframe, without any explanations. Why did the selectmen order Mrs. Mills to delegate some of her duties and responsibilities to others? RSA 41:29 clearly states that the treasurer is charged with “having custody of all moneys belonging to the town …” We elected her treasurer, not others. The selectmen demanded that all payments to the NHPDIP be stopped. Again, no explanation was given for this demand except that for some unexplained reason the selectmen do not trust this entity. This pool was adopted in New Hampshire about 20
years ago to protect town funds, and it is governed by the N.H. Bank Commissioner with a very distinguished board of directors. We have been a participant for a long time. Why do these three financially uneducated and uninformed selectmen think they know more about town investing than our treasurer and the top N.H. bankers and state officials? Is this in the best interests of the town? In March, our town auditor recommended the selectmen invite the Local Government Center to come to town and review policies and make recommendations. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea? The town treasurer is responsible for town funds. As she holds this responsibility, why should she comply with these demands? On what grounds do the selectmen feel it is their duty to micromanage other elected officials? They are not employees! They certainly have the right to oversee all offices and format policy changes, but not to displace our elected treasurer. She has every right to question the requests. You were elected selectman, Mr. Farnum, not king! We admire the treasurer for standing up for what are inappropriate actions by the selectmen. The selectmen have a right to oversee all transactions, but they MUST include the treasurer in any financial policy changes. That’s why the people elect a treasurer. Mrs. Mills has done an outstanding job as our treasurer, with sound investment policy decisions. It is a disgrace to see the harassment and false innuendo she has been subjected to by the select chair. Mr. Farnum seems to have an issue with anyone who isn’t part of his political persuasion and with anyone who doesn’t ask “how high” when ordered to jump. This ongoing pattern of untruth, innuendo and rudeness inflicted on residents who disagree with him must stop. He needs to issue an apology and consider stepping down as he appears unfit for the position he was elected to. Dannie and Betty Wasson Chocorua
Thanks to community on behalf of Project SUCCEED To the editor: I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the North Conway Village community on behalf of Project SUCCEED at John Fuller Elementary School. Our new “Friday Field Trips” have been incredibly successful and we owe many thanks to those who made it all possible. Thank you to Roger Clemons with the Mount Washington Valley Theater Company who kicked off our field trips with a back stage tour of the Eastern Slope Playhouse and a lively storytelling. Thank you to Staci Blair and the rest of the Flatbread Company crew who provided exciting, hands on dough tossing demonstration and some delicious flatbread taste tests. Thank you to Becca Deschennes and Johnny Mersereau for a thrilling and loud snowmaking tour around the base of Cranmore Mountain Resort.
We look forward to our future trips to the Old Village Bakery, the Mount Washington Valley Arts Association, the Mount Washington Valley Children’s Museum, and the North Conway Fire Department. One of Project SUCCEED’s goals this year was to continue to strengthen community connections and we have been blown away by the generosity of our community. We have encountered nothing but eager community members who have been willing and happy to take time out of their schedule to share their business or organization with our students. If you have something you would like to share afterschool with our Project SUCCEED students, please contact Carrie at carrie.mclane@gmail.com. Carrie McLane, site director Project SUCCEED John Fuller Elementary School North Conway