Haverhill voters reject Woodsville funding and Bath seeks new police officer

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More New Hampshire Town Meeting coverage:

NORTH HAVERHLL—Over 300 residents turned out for town meeting on Saturday afternoon spending five hours sifting through the meeting warrant.
Proposed appropriations to the Woodsville Highway and Fire departments were voted down, but the $5.1 million operating budget was approved. A non-binding resolution to remove Haverhill Town Manager Brigitte Codling was also voted down. See more…

BATH—On a windswept and snowy evening, Bath voters directed the selectboard to reduce library spending by $41,000 while approving the hire of a full-time officer for the police department and authorizing the town to conduct a study of the formation of a regional police department.See more…

Orford, Piermont and Warren Town Meeting articles

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ORFORD—“The ayes have it,” Orford Town Moderator Harry Pease announced after each vote throughout the annual Orford Town Meeting on March 14.
Undeterred by the mid-March snowstorm that led some towns to postpone their annual meetings, 123 Orford voters signed in at the Rivendell Academy gym that evening. See more…

PIERMONT—A lengthy discussion on the operating budget consumed close to an hour of Piermont’s Town Meeting, March 18, with nearly 60 people attending. See more…

WARREN—First-time Warren Moderator Lesa Romano gaveled town meeting to order at 9 a.m. on March 14 as voters braved a threatening snowstorm to conduct town and school business.

In Times Past: Not Just Social Clubs

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Larry Coffin’s ‘In Times Past’ is featured on the front page of the B Section this week:

“By being involved in church or charitable groups, women were able to find companionship and a way to facilitate change in their community.” Jane Cunningham Croly, founder, General Federation of Women’s Clubs 1898.
America has seen a decline in “active civic engagement,” partially attributed to membership loss in traditional women’s clubs. Many such local organizations have ceased to exist.
This column details women’s roles in just a few of the many local causes and organizations active in our area at one time. The ones identified below are just a sample of those that played an important role in their communities.

NH school funding: Between a rock and a hard place

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WARREN—“Taxpayers and students around the state are not treated equitably,” said attorney John Tobin. “What happens in Moultonborough or Portsmouth is vastly different from what happens in Warren or Manchester or Nashua or Hopkinton or Allenstown or Franklin or Keene or Concord.”. Tobin serves on the board of directors of the NH School Funding Fairness Project. Representatives of NHSFFP gave an hour-long presentation at the invitation of local school officials before a full house at Warren Town Hall on March 9.

Local man sentenced in NEK murder

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BURLINGTON—A former Haverhill man, who officials have said they believe was one of the two apparent triggermen at a 2018 homicide in the Northeast Kingdom, was sentenced Friday to nine years in federal prison.
John Welch, 37, was one of three people present when Michael Pimental, 37, of Waterford, was fatally shot in his home at 2394 Duck Pond Road on Oct. 13, 2018, officials said.
Just who actually pulled the triggers of the two guns used that night remains in doubt, according to lawyers in U.S. District Court on Friday afternoon.

Simpson moving forward for trial in federal court

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BURLINGTON—The federal court trial for a Vermont man, who is charged with abducting a woman, crossing state lines, and sexually assaulting her in front of her son in Windsor County four years ago, is likely to last less than two weeks when it begins next month.
Everett A. Simpson, 45, has pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to two kidnapping charges involving a mother and child and two interstate transportation of stolen car counts all stemming from a January 2019 crime spree, records show.

Fairlee has new police chief

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FAIRLEE–As with any change, something is left behind. And something new takes its place. Fairlee has its first 30 hours a week of police enforcement from “a single source,” according to Fairlee Selectboard Chair Peter Berger.
Cpl. Wayne Briggs, of Thetford, was sworn in on March 1 as Fairlee’s Chief of Police.

Vermont Town Meeting coverage plus BMU budget approval

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Newbury sends its message; Topsham rejects budget cut; BMU budget gets approved; more Vermont Town Meeting coverage inside the JO!

Bradford Voters put skids on road salt at Saturday Town Meeting

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BRADFORD—Town meeting voters narrowly approved a change in elections procedure, ousted an incumbent from the selectboard, and made a slim reduction to the operating budget with the aim of reducing future road salt use on town roadways during winter maintenance.

Previews: Orford Town Meeting, Bath Town Meeting and Rivendell School District

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ORFORD—Voters will gather in person for their town meeting at the Rivendell Academy gym on March 14 at 7 p.m.
A notable item on this year’s warrant is Article 19, which asks voters whether they want the selectboard to study the feasibility of the town buying the Orford Congregational Church building at a mutually agreed amount by both parties.

BATH—Police coverage and next steps for a town garage replacement will be among the items Bath takes up at town meeting on March 14.

ORFORD—Voters will take up a proposed 10.7% budget increase at the Rivendell Interstate School District Annual Meeting on March 21.