Bow News : drugs

Bow parents get drug test kits

Bow Editor — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:40:00 GMT

Jim Pelton has seen firsthand the effect that drugs can have on a family, and he wants to be sure that others don’t experience the same.

Pelton, who had a family member deal with substance abuse for four years, started A Drug Free Kid, a group that provides drug-testing kits to parents.

The Bow resident has donated kits to the Bow Police Department, and parents can obtain the kits for free, no questions asked.

“Parents need to smarten up. There are too many parents who are saying ‘Not my child.’ By taking charge, parents could be saving their child’s life,” Pelton said.

Bow Police Lt. Dave Girard agrees with Pelton when it comes to parents’ roles in preventing substance abuse.

“I think parents are the first line of defense in any sort of problem. They’re the most effective and have the most influence. The more they’re involved, the less likely it is that we get involved,” Girard said. “We’ll use every tool and resource available to us to combat substance abuse.”

Pelton said high school students aren’t the only age group that parents need to look out for when it comes to drugs.

“If they start talking to their kids once they enter middle school and have these drug kits, they are able to work together, and kids know they have an agreement with their parents,” he said.

In addition to Bow, Pelton has also donated drug kits to five other towns, and has sold them to parents across the country.

A Drug Free Kid has also been a way for parents around the country to have someone to talk to.

“We get phone calls and deal with parents all over the place. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback and just being able to talk,” he said. “All we want to do is make a difference somewhere along the line and make an impact with the kids.”

Over recent months, Pelton said he e-mailed every school administrator in the state of New Hampshire to see if they had interest in making the kits available. He said he heard back from a very small number of schools.

“There’s a sign on our school property that say it’s a drug-free zone, but drugs are as much of a part of their education as reading, writing and arithmetic,” said Pelton. “No one is going to do anything about it unless parents do. No one is going to save their kids but them.”

Pelton said high school students aren’t the only ones being pressured with drugs. He recommends parents begin talking with their kids when they enter middle school.

“They may never use it (the drug kit), but the kids know it’s there,” said Pelton. “That way, kids have another reason to say no to peer pressure.”

Bow teen faces drug charges

Bow Editor — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:04:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

A Bow High School student was arrested on multiple felony drug charges after police found marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and drug paraphernalia in his vehicle.

Colby Hall, 18, was arrested Friday, April 11, after school resource officer Sgt. Margaret Lougee learned Hall may have drugs in his possession and alerted the school’s principal. The pair searched Hall’s car, which was parked on school grounds.

Hall was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of psilocybin mushrooms with intent to distribute, both felonies, and unlawful possession of alcohol.

Bow Police Lt. Dave Girard said the arrest was unlike others involving teenagers and drugs.

“Obviously, this is different than just some kid carrying a small bag of weed,” said Girard. “When you throw in a scale and the sandwich baggies, it’s alarming for us and something we’re not going to take lightly.”

Girard said he does not believe the arrest indicates there is a larger drug problem at the school.

“I think Bow High School is not any better or worse than any high school. Hopefully, this will send a message that this activity won’t be tolerated,” he said.

The arrest came in the school parking lot between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., and Girard described it as “low key.”

Making arrests related to the psilocybin mushrooms in Bow is a rarity, said Girard.

“That is the first time we’ve seen them here in months,” he said. “We haven’t seen any at the high school and, in regular patrol activities, nothing comes to mind in more than a year.”

According to Girard, the arrest was also different than the usual activities at the school.

“The school resource officer did a great job of turning this up,” said Girard. “She’s made arrests (at the school) before, but not of this quantity. This arrest is certainly different from her previous arrests over there.”

Busted again – SNHU basketball star faces charges after fight

Bow Editor — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:38:00 GMT

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

In the midst of facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly possessing and selling marijuana to an undercover officer with the Attorney General’s drug task force, Paul Chergey again finds himself in trouble with the law.

The former Bow High School basketball star and current Southern New Hampshire University hoopster was suspended indefinitely after Penmen head coach Stan Spirou was informed of the allegations.

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Chergey was arrested by the Hooksett Police Department following an on-campus fight and was charged with reckless operation of a vehicle and being a minor in possession of alcohol, both misdemeanors.

Hooksett Police Capt. Paul Cecilio said witnesses claim Chergey was racing a vehicle around the parking lot.

Cecilio added that the 19-year-old has three outstanding bench warrants out of Concord District Court. Chergey’s lawyer, Kevin Buccholz, was unavailable for comment.

The two misdemeanor counts carry up to a year a piece, in addition to the drug charges that bring one to three years in prison for each special felony count and 12 months in the House of Corrections for a Class A misdemeanor.

Chergey may also lose his license for up to a year if convicted of reckless driving.

Dr. Scott Kalicki, vice president of student affairs at the university, said incident reports indicate Hooksett police were called at the request of Chergey’s combatant during the altercation.

Kalicki said the school is investigating the incident.

“Any time there is a physical altercation, we quickly do fact-finding, assuming both parties are responsible for the altercation and take it from there unless there is evidence that an individual was purely acting in self defense and couldn’t extricate themselves from the situation,” he said. “Certainly both students will be under review for this incident.”

Both men involved were examined and offered medical attention.

Both declined, said Kalicki.

Southern New Hampshire University athletics director Skip Polak, who is in his 32nd year with the institution, said if the allegations regarding the possession and sale of drugs are accurate, the charges are the most serious ever brought against a Southern New Hampshire University student athlete.

Still, Polak said he has yet to see, first hand, the actual indictments, though he acknowledged he and Jim Winn, the school’s director of safety, met with Chergey in person on Friday, Sept. 21.

“It’s really a school issue first and foremost. We have a disciplinary protocol that we, as an institution, follow,” said Polak. “Right now, it’s in a fact-finding stage, so to speculate in anyway would be premature at this point.”

Still, Kalicki said Chergey may receive further disciplinary action, the extent of which has yet to be determined.

“We’re really talking about two separate things,” he said. “One is a student handbook violation based on violent act on campus that we consider a major violation in which a student can be removed from residence halls or the academic
institution for an extended period of time.

“The other, equally, is something we will try to get more information on and monitor,” Kalicki said. “When we believe we have enough information, we’ll put him through the proper judicial process on campus.”

According to the Kalicki, the SNHU handbook indicates a student may not disrupt relationships within the university and surrounding community, which the felony charges fall under.

“There is a whole set of ranges, which becomes a challenge for us because we’re not holders of the information,” he said.

“We simply have Paul’s brief version of what took place, so, until we find out more, we have no other immediate action other than what the basketball coach has decided.”

Chergey busted for pot – SNHU cager from Bow indicted on felony, misdemeanor charges

Bow Editor — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Paul Chergey, who two years ago led the Bow Falcons boys basketball team to the Class I title game, has been indicted on multiple charges involving the possession and sale of marijuana.

On Aug. 16, Chergey was indicted by the grand jury on two special felony counts of sale of a controlled drug, one felony count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled drug.

He paid $10,000 personal recognizance bail. He also waived his arraignment.

According to Merrimack County Attorney Dan St. Hilaire, if Chergey is convicted, the three special felony counts each bring one to three years in state prison, and the Class A misdemeanor warrants 12 months in a house of corrections.

Special felony penalties, said St. Hilaire, differ depending on the type of drug and quantity sold.

The charges stem from two separate incidents.

On May 31, Chergey, while in the area of 18 Longview Drive in Bow, allegedly sold less than an ounce of marijuana to an undercover police officer and a cooperating individual.

Then, on June 28, in the area of Page Road, Chergey allegedly was in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, which he intended to distribute, though there was, according to the indictments, no sale.

While St. Hilaire said he could not comment on specifics of the case, he spoke of the intent of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s drug task force.

“The drug task force works throughout the state and has several undercover officers from different police departments in the area assigned to the unit,” he said. “Either on their own, or with informants, they make contacts with suspected drug dealers and make arrangements to purchase drugs. Once one or in some cases two or three of those sales occurs, there is typically an arrest.”

The Bow Police Department is an active member of the drug task force.

Chergey is currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University, where he made an immediate impact as a freshman on the basketball team. Head coach Stan Spirou, when originally reached for comment, said it was the first time he heard of the charges.

Later, after conducting an internal investigation, Spirou said Chergey has been suspended.

“Nothing has been proven. I really don’t know much about it other than knowing he has been arrested. It’s an unfortunate situation,” Spirou said. “The only thing I do know is when an individual is arrested, no matter what their side of the story is or what they say happened, we have a policy that has to be played out.”

For now, Chergey’s scholarship is intact, and he continues his enrollment as a student.

Spirou said he has spoken with the player, who he said is “devastated” and “remorseful.”

Repeated attempts to reach Chergey for comment were unsuccessful.

“It’s not a positive thing for a program, but I’ve been doing this long enough that I know, right now, we need more information,” said Spirou. “I’ve been in this situation before, where things have worked themselves out through the judicial system.”

Spirou said he will speak with Chergey’s lawyer, Kevin Buchholz, in the near future.

A trial date has not been set.