Dubes Pond: Cars damaged by gun fire
Police in Hooksett are investigating a shooting at Dubes Pond that damaged three cars whose owners were camping in wooded areas around the pond. Girard at Large was alerted to the weekend shooting when yet another loyal listener forwarded a social media post on the matter. In the post, which we’ll upload with this newscast at Girard at Large dot com, Rachael Carter details the damage, claiming it came from a twenty two caliber rifle. In urging people to not sleep or otherwise be in their cars around the pond for fear of being injured or killed, Carter took a swipe at Hooksett P D saying they quote “exhibited a lack of enthusiasm to solve the crime.” She said they’d been provided with a cell phone and shell casings that weren’t far from where the cars were damaged, but that the cops’ response was that they didn’t have the resources to unlock the cell phone to determine its ownership. She expressed the hope that the media and desire of local residents would help bring closure to the crime before someone was gravely hurt.
Bartlett: Investigation ongoing
Well, after receiving the post, we spoke with Hooksett Police Chief Peter Bartlett who painted something of a different story. He said it was his officers who discovered the damaged cars while patrolling the area and notified the owners of what had happened. While he admitted the department lacked the necessary tools to unlock the cell phone, he also said the phone and shell casings brought to the department came from a sand pit that was three and a half miles away from the site of the shooting and is loaded with shell casings of all kinds as it is a place where people commonly shoot. As a result, they are unable to determine that the phone or shell casings have any connection to the shooting. He did say investigators found a shell casing near the shooting, but declined to say of what caliber it was and said it had yet to be determined what caliber of gun was used to shoot the vehicles. Bartlett said the investigation was ongoing and asked that any member of the public who might have heard or seen something in the vicinity to come forward with that information to assist the investigation.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Dick: Union asked teachers to wear red
Well, it seems that button wearing hasn’t been the only organized union activity in Manchester’s schools over the past couple of weeks. In light of our news report yesterday about Manchester Education Association members distributing and wearing red M E A buttons in school, we heard from more listeners who told us that teachers had organized to wear red shirts in school, red being the color of the shirts union members wear to public meetings. M E A President Ben Dick confirmed that teachers across the district had been asked by the union to wear red as a show of solidarity, but said they weren’t specifically asked to wear red shirts and that they weren’t wearing their union apparel, but simply any article of red clothing to show unity and internal team support. Parents who have contacted Girard at Large have questioned why the union was engaging in such activity while students are still in school asserting that they have a couple of days with each other after students leave school for the year, which was yesterday by the way, to do all that union stuff without affecting the environment for students or parents. Of course, if they did that, then they wouldn’t be showing the organizers in training created by the Granite State Organizing Project at Central High how to agitate for a cause, now would they?
Brown: Campaign said Cantor bad news for Shaheen
Looks like we have to correct a story we aired yesterday regarding the defeat of U S House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia. We reported that U S Senate candidates Bob Smith and Jim Rubens had put out press statements hailing the victory as a warning to the Republican establishment that boded well for their campaigns. In that report, we said that the campaign of former Bay State Senator Scott Brown had been silent on the matter. We were wrong. As we dug through our email inbox, we discovered and email from Brown’s campaign trumpeting Cantor’s stunning defeat as a reason why incumbents like Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen should be worried. They say it showed support for President Barry’s immigration reforms are a liability, that a political wave is building against incumbents, Washington is toxic, aggressive challengers focused on the grassroots will win and that a motivated electorate will lead to a high anti-incumbent turnout, as was the case in Virgina on Tuesday. We apologize for missing the email in our busy, busy inboxes.
Merrimack Town Manager, Eileen Cabanel, announced the death of Town Council Chairman Dave G. Yakuboff, Sr., yesterday. Yakuboff had battled a lengthy illness. He was a proud Navy veteran and was the consummate family man who adored his wife, children and grandchildren. He selflessly served Merrimack in a variety of ways, including as a member of the Town Charter Commission and the Town Highway Garage Building Committee, as well as several other boards and commissions. As a successful local businessman, Yakuboff was “quietly generous” to those who needed his help and was always there to offer his kind support – never turning away anyone who needed his assistance. Cabanel has directed flags at town buildings be flown at half-staff in honor and memory of Yakuboff’s commitment to serve. Local businesses and residents are invited to do the same to memorialize his hard work, dedication and community spirit. We extend our condolences to the family and the town on their sad loss. Click here for the town’s notification and a picture of Yakuboff.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ starts right now!
