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Hooksett Police Commission steps back over firing

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:28:00 GMT

Hooksett’s three Police Commission members said they would recuse themselves from handling a grievance filed by former police officer Jason Defina.

Defina, a 10-year Hooksett Police Department veteran, was fired by the commission in a 2-1 vote Sept. 8.

The decision, made Sept. 28, comes less than two weeks after state Rep. David Boutin filed legislation to increase the membership of the Police Commission from three to five. Boutin, who is also a Hooksett town councilor, told council members at their Sept. 9 meeting he delayed filing the legislation because Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis told him privately he would “hang Hooksett’s laundry out to dry” if he did so.

Agrafiotis, who questioned the Town Council’s unanimous vote in favor of increasing the commission, acknowledged having a conversation with Boutin but denied making the laundry remark.

During the Sept. 28 Police Commission meeting, commission members discussed a list of approximately 12 candidates to oversee Defina’s grievance. They ultimately nominated three men who formerly served on the Police Commission. They are identified as Robert Normandeau, William Lyons and John Proctor.

Chairman David Gagnon said the commissioners removed themselves from handling the Defina issue to avoid any perceived bias. The three current commissioners, Gagnon, Henry Roy and Joanne McHugh, will continue to conduct normal business except on the Defina issue.

“We have too much knowledge about what went on,” he said.

Gagnon, who has been on the commission nine years, said he can’t remember the last time a board member has removed himself from an issue.

“I don’t know about the whole board, but I have never seen that happen before,” he said.

Defina’s attorney, Bill Cahill, confirmed shortly after the meeting that a grievance had been filed but would not give specifics or comment further.

“As you know, officer Defina was fired by the majority of the board,” Agrafiotis said at the Police Commission meeting. “That replacement board will make a decision if officer Defina can return to the job.”

The Police Commission, police chief, Defina nor their respective attorneys have said publicly why Defina was fired.

Immediately after his termination, Defina said he planned a legal fight to get his job back.

“I will still be a cop,” Defina said at the time. “There is no doubt in my mind that I will be back in Hooksett. I will be back with the Police Department and I deserve to be. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Defina could not be reached for comment shortly after the Police Commission meeting.

On Thursday, Sept. 24, Boutin said the legislation he filed would require town voters to approve increasing the Police Commission members in a town-wide ballot question.

“Twice now, there has been a unanimous council vote to do this, and all four state representatives (in Hooksett) are sponsoring the bill,” Boutin said.

Many council members previously cited greater transparency as one reason to increase the number of commissioners, but Boutin pointed to an increase in the town’s size as another reason.

“We’ve tripled in size” since the commission was formed in 1975, he said. “At one point several years ago, the citizens of Hooksett said a three-member board of selectmen was not enough and they changed to a nine-member Town Council. The argument is fundamentally the same. This is going to offer greater representation throughout the community.”

Record turnout for primary

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:03:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

High voter turnouts, particularly among young people and independents, characterized this year’s primary election as one of a possible culture change.

More than half of registered voters in Hooksett, Pembroke, Allenstown, Auburn, Candia and Epsom participated in the primary vote, with Hooksett hitting a high 68 percent turnout.

Overall, New Hampshire is one of the more independent states in the country. According to an ABC News exit poll, about 40 percent of registered New Hampshire voters who participated in the nation’s first primary on Tuesday, Jan. 8, were registered as undeclared or independent.

Republican winner John McCain, who took 37 percent of the Republican vote, was the favorite coming into the primary for his perceived ability to capture independent votes.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in a dead heat for most of the night as results poured in, but Clinton pulled away overnight and came through with 39 percent of the Democratic vote to Obama’s 36 percent to take the win.

In Hooksett, where just three votes separated McCain and Romney on the Republican ballot, Clinton was a favorite with about a fifth of the total 5,337 votes cast for both parties.

Including write-ins and 25 blank ballots from voters who wrote in their choices and forgot to fill in the oval, 5,487 votes were cast, a 68 percent turnout.

Leslie Nepveu, Hooksett town clerk for the last 21 years, estimated more than 500 new voters registered at the polls. “For a primary election, it was definitely the highest turnout,” Nepveu said, but added checklist supervisors did not yet have an exact count.

The Associated Press set up shop at the polls at Cawley School with a live feed to a news program in Europe, Nepveu said.

About a third of Candia’s voters are registered as undeclared, 1,176 out of a total 3,228 names on the checklist. The total number includes 224 new voters, who accounted for one-tenth of the primary votes. About 65 percent of Candia’s registered voters showed up at the polls.

“I’ve been the town clerk for 24 years, and this was probably the best primary we’ve ever had,” said Town Clerk Christine Dupere.

Pembroke registered 45 new voters, bringing the checklist total to 5,505. According to Town Clerk James Goff, 3,025 votes were cast for a 55 percent turnout. New voters accounted for about 15 percent of the total votes. Democrats on the whole got about 40 more votes than Republicans in that town.

Pembroke election moderator Tom Petit, who has been working at the town’s polls since 1972 in various capacities, said he thinks the spike in voting numbers is a sign of the town’s growth.

“My first thought is our town, like a lot of other towns, is in a state of change,” he said, adding new people, particularly of a younger generation, have come to town in the past few years.

Before the election, said Allenstown Town Clerk Diane Demers, there were 2,554 registered Allenstown voters, 1,205 of those registered as undeclared.

By the close of the polls, 279 new voters had contributed to the 1,696 votes cast, making up about 17 percent of the total votes. The total turnout was 59 percent of registered voters.

“I think there’s a lot of things going on that’s sparking people’s interest,” Demers said, referring to the younger generation’s surge in political involvement and world issues.

Joanne Linxweiler, Auburn town clerk, said 2,541 votes were counted, amounting to a potentially record-breaking 66 percent turnout. Complete numbers for new voter registration were not available by press time, but Linxweiler said she was impressed with the amount of new voters who came out.

Epsom counted a total of 1,905 ballots. Of those, 227, or almost 12 percent, were from newly registered voters. Out of the total 3,261 registered voters, Epsom had a 58 percent turnout.

Blackwell said the inundation of political calls and mail in the weeks before the election could have spurred people to vote, as well as the outcomes in Iowa where Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee took their respective party’s victories in caucus.

Epsom was the only Banner town to vote mostly Republican, with 1,004 total Republican ballots to 901 Democratic ballots counted.

Cookie mom – Christine Frydenborg campaigns for Priorities NH

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:15:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Who would have thought a bubbly, unassuming, cookie-serving mom would be at presidential candidate events, educating attendees about wasting the federal budget and what to do about the country’s deficit?

Hooksett resident Christine Frydenborg, 37, says it’s one of the most original tools Priorities New Hampshire uses to get their ideas across to voters.

Frydenborg, a celebrated play actress and performer since the age of 5, responded to a casting call from Priorities New Hampshire in the early spring for the role of spokesperson “Cookie Mom.”

So far, Cookie Mom has been at events for Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, just to name a few, bearing sugar cookies frosted with pie charts depicting federal government spending.

Priorities New Hampshire does not endorse candidates, but rather attempts to inform voters about what they view as wasteful federal spending.

“Cookie Mom is supposed to be apolitical,” Frydenborg said. “The goal is to be appealing to people.”

She characterized Cookie Mom as the culmination of several different women: teacher, happy homemaker, educator and assertive woman.

Even with her bubbly attitude and winning smile, Cookie Mom occasionally gets the boot.

“There are some events we’re not welcome at, and sometimes, very rudely not welcomed,” she said, adding that being kicked out casts a negative light on Priorities New Hampshire that is not deserved.

At an event at the American Legion in Londonderry, Frydenborg said, state Rep. Al Baldassaro advised police to be on the lookout for an antiwar protester wearing and apron and brandishing a basket of cookies.

“He said my presence was an insult to veterans,” Frydenborg said, adding that one of the goals of Priorities New Hampshire is to get better health care for veterans.

Some campaigns have negative preconceived notions of who “Cookie Mom” is and what Priorities New Hampshire stands for, Frydenborg said.

“Every event is different,’ she said. “We are not here to interfere with candidates’ campaigns.”

So far, Cookie Mom, who is single with no kids and does not, contrary to popular belief, make the cookies herself, has gained endorsements from several candidates including Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel and Bill Richardson.

Candidate Clinton addresses Central grads

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:19:00 GMT

BY SUSAN WARE

When U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke to Central High School graduates on Thursday, June 14, she was the first presidential candidate in the 155-year history of the school to deliver a commencement address.

Wearing a white robe like the female members of the class, the Democratic presidential candidate urged graduates take risks and “dare to compete.”

“You have the chance to chart your own future,” she said. “ Now dare to compete to be the best you can be. Life has no guarantees. But it can be, whatever you give to it and take from it, a great adventure and a blessing.”

Clinton reminded the 470 graduates that they have had the privilege of living in New Hampshire, a state with strong community and family values.

She also said she was nervous about addressing graduates because funny man Adam Sandler, Class of 1984, had spoken at two previous graduation ceremonies. She joked with John Rist, principal of Central High School, saying that she knew his wife well, and that the Rists had a mixed marriage – “You know the type; one is a Boston fan, the other is Yankees.”

During her address, Clinton discussed her decision to run for U.S. Senate in 1999 as one of the biggest risks she has ever taken.

“Some days, I thought it was a great idea. Others, I thought it was a terrible idea. But I decided to take the risk, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she said.

Clinton also encouraged graduates of this school with more than 60 nationalities speaking dozens of languages, to focus less on the things that divide us, but rather that we are all the same.

“Here at Central, you’ve had the chance to learn the most important lesson there is: that your differences aren’t a weakness, they’re your greatest strength. That everybody matters,” said Clinton.

Hooksett voters support town employee raises, benefits

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:55:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

Less than 10 percent of Hooksett’s registered voters showed up for Hooksett’s town election on Tuesday, May 8, but those who did were largely supportive of the town’s financial requests.

Of the 7,902 registered voters in town, only 742 cast votes.

“We had a very low turnout,” said Town Council Chairman George Longfellow. “But I think the people that did vote all had a real purpose.”

The only town request denied by voters was for $1.5 million to finish the expansion of the town’s sewer plant. It narrowly failed to get the necessary 60 percent majority, 396-328.

The $1.5 million could be covered if the Town Council successfully negotiates an $18 million bond – approved by voters last year – with Cabela’s.

Voters approved the town’s proposed operating budget of $15,110,889, which was boosted at last month’s deliberative session of Town Meeting by $100,000 by residents who said they wanted to ease the sting of higher health insurance costs planned to be charged to town employees. The budget passed 402-318.

Hooksett’s unionized police officers, who’ve been without a contract for the last year, will get about $166,000 in new salaries and benefits over the next three years, after voters handily approved a contract 517-207.

Voters also approved launching a revolving loan fund to pay for police special details.

The contract will cost about $71,000 in the first year.

Some town employees will also get raises this year, as voters – by a 454-275 count – approved spending $83,000 to put in a “wage pool.” The town’s department heads and town administrator will draw from the money after determining who deserves raises and by how much.

By a 423-294 count, voters approved $50,000 for parks facilities.

Parks officials have said they hope to use the money to build a new park, with parking and playground equipment, on town-owned land at Hackett Hill Road and Corriveau Drive.

Parks officials have said the west-side park will reduce the town’s parks “deficit,” which needs to be erased in order for the department to draw from impact fees, collected when new residential developers get their building permits. The fees are returned to the developers if they’re not used within six years.

Voters also approved a request to return 100 percent of current use revenue – collected when developers take property out of current use, a state in which the undeveloped property is greatly devalued for tax purposes – to the town’s conservation fund, with no annual cap.

The article passed 507-214.

The vote removes a $100,000 annual cap on the amount of current use revenue entering the fund that voters approved last year.

Zoning changes Voters had mixed feelings about several proposed zoning changes, including one that a prominent Planning Board member publicly warned could cause the town legal trouble.

Zoning Amendment 1 asked to extend the town’s Route 3 “performance zone,” which allows for a wide range of potential developments but sets uniform criteria for factors like lighting and noise, up Route 3 from Main Street to the Allenstown line. The amendment failed 386- 298. The amendment asked also to prohibit automotive facilities like gas stations and repair stations in the corridor.

3A Development, the group responsible for the proposed University Heights development, and which partnered with the town and the DOT to create the College Park Drive “connector road,” has been planning a gas station in the area.

In a letter published in The Union Leader, Planning Board Vice Chairman Raymond Guay said the town’s amendment would have undoubtedly lead to a lawsuit from the developer.

“If you don’t mind donating your hard-earned tax dollars to send our town attorney on a beautiful vacation in the islands, just to lose this case in the end... then vote ‘yes’ on No. 1,” he wrote.

Elections Fourteen elected seats came open this year, though there were no contested races. David Dickson, Bill Gahara and incumbent George Longfellow were all elected to three-year terms on the Town Council.

Councilor DiBitetto: Investigate me

Hooksett Editor — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:59:00 GMT

By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

A Hooksett town councilor is calling for an investigation into his own past amidst informal allegations that he’s abused his elected position to seek personal financial gains.

Michael DiBitetto, who’s already accused fellow councilor Patricia Rueppel of political collusion, says “Rueppel and her associates have commenced an investigation of me and my business interests.”

DiBitetto wrote in a letter to the council: “The purpose for prying into my personal and business affairs can only be to smear my reputation and do damage to my good name.”

That letter was expected to be aired at the council’s Wednesday, Sept. 27, meeting, after press time.

DiBitetto said he’s recently been informed by multiple sources that the participants in a “slanderous effort” have suggested he’s used his elected position to affect planning board decisions.

He also said informal allegations have surfaced that due to Di-Bitetto’s real estate background, he will gain financially from the Interstate 93, Exit 11, developments, anticipated to be ushered in if outdoor sports retailer Cabela’s builds there.

“I have no financial involvement whatsoever in the Exit 11 development plans,” he wrote. “My only interest in the Exit 11 (tax increment financing district) is that of a council member and a citizen.”

DiBitetto, who’s in his sixth year on the town council, is a real estate broker who said his primary professional focus has been land planning and development.

DiBitetto said he has been involved in the Granite Hills residential project over the years, but declined to detail his exact involvement.

“I’ve had a longstanding financial interest,” he said, “ and let’s leave it at that.”

DiBitetto is demanding an investigation into the allegations, and is asking the council to petition the Attorney General’s office to conduct the investigation.

In the letter, he also suggests the Attorney General investigate all parties who may have communicated with David Ewald, the owner of a public relations firm hired by Gander Mountain, a sporting goods retailer and competitor to Cabela’s.

Ewald and Rueppel are named as conspirators in charges DiBitetto filed against Rueppel in July (see related story).

As of press time, before the latest council meeting, Rueppel said she was confounded upon hearing DiBitetto’s latest claims involving her.

Rueppel declined much comment.

“I’m not involved in any of this,” she said of the alleged rumors.

Town Council Chairman George Longfellow said he’d rather not comment on DiBitetto’s latest claims without further input from the rest of the council.

“(DiBitetto) is an individual and he’s got the right to bring up whatever he wants,” he said. “Until we find out more of the particulars, I’d rather not comment.”