BY JENN MCDOWELL
A Merrimack resident has been served with temporary restraining orders from two Hooksett town employees after she sent what were called threatening e-mails after being terminated from her temporary job as an administrative assistant in the building department.
Human Resources Coordinator Elizabeth Dionne and Building Inspector Michelle Bonsteel both filed petitions on Tuesday, Sept. 4, with Hooksett District Court for protective orders for stalking against Catherine Anderson of 2 Boulder Way in Merrimack.
In court documents, the two town office workers claimed Anderson sent a threatening e-mail on Sunday, Sept. 2, to Dionne in which Bonsteel was mentioned and allegedly showing up at the Hooksett Town Hall in the days following her termination.
Anderson’s temporary contract as an administrative assistant in the building department was terminated on Tuesday, Aug. 28, though town officials and the temporary agency she was contracted with would not offer any specific reason for why her contract ended.
The protective orders state that Anderson must remain at least 100 yards away from both Bonsteel and Dionne. If she fails to comply with the terms of either order, she could face federal felony charges.
Anderson is scheduled to appear at Merrimack District Court, where the case was transferred, on Friday, Sept. 24, at 10 a.m., to answer to both Dionne and Bonsteel’s allegations.
“I feel she’s going to snap and hurt me because she didn’t get a job, and she’s very odd and weird. I’m scared,” said Dionne in her written statement within her petition.
“She appeared in the town offices on August 29th, 30th, and 31st for no authorized reason. She sent a threatening e-mail to Elizabeth Dionne naming me and making false accusations,” Bonsteel wrote in her petition, adding, “She is ex-military. I fear for my safety.”
Anderson, 47, was placed by the job placement company Office Team in the job at the Hooksett town offices, answering phones and handling clerical duties.
Reesa Staten, senior vice president for Robert Half International, the parent companypf Office Team, said she was surprised that someone in their midst had been accused of such an act.
“We were very surprised. We certainly couldn’t have anticipated anything like this,” said Staten said, adding that nothing like this had ever happened before with Robert Half, an internationally recognized corporation that owns many temp agencies, including Accountemps.com.
Staten said Anderson was hired out of their Manchester Office Team location, and that her background check revealed nothing indicating that she would be a problem.
She added that Anderson has not been placed on any other assignments since her termination with the Hooksett Town Hall, and that she could not comment on the details of that termination, citing privacy policy limitations.
Hooksett Town Administrator David Jodoin would not comment on the case, saying it is a legal matter.
A call to Dionne went unanswered, and Bonsteel would offer no comment on the issue, directing inquiries to attorney B.J. Branch.
Branch said he could not comment on why Anderson was terminated or what the nature of the threatening e-mail was.
“I’d be concerned at this time about commenting on a pending case,” he said.
Anderson took over the responsibilities of Jessica Skorupski, one of the “Hooksett Four” fired in April for gossiping about Jodoin and his relationship with another employee, in April.
Bonsteel, also one of the “Hooksett Four,” was offered her job back.