,Quote: “Long story short…. No arrests were made because no crimes were committed. A woman alleged a crime occurred at 2 7 9 Concord Street, believed it to be a hostage situation. Neither allegations had any merit. Central High School was placed in lock down based on the fact the address was two blocks away. Manchester SWAT arrived on scene as a precautionary measure. Three people were detained but NONE were arrested and charged. The reporting individual may face criminal charges for making a false report to law enforcement. That is all-much ado about nothing!” That’s what Manchester Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian O’Keefe had to say Friday afternoon as the situation surrounding Central High cleared. Based on emails and texts we received from police, school personnel and interested parties, we’ve determined that the school was locked down at around twenty minutes to Noon and lifted at about five minutes to one. Central students at the Manchester School of Technology were held there until the situation cleared. Social media burned with the news as police and school officials made clear that the lock down was as a result of a situation nearby the school, not in the school. Questions have been raised, however, as to whether or not lock-down was overkill given the situation with critics suggesting the school could have gone into so called “secure mode.” That’s when all doors to the buildings and classrooms are locked so nobody can get in or out of the building or the classes, but classes continue to be taught. It’s not just something that happens at Parkside with a kid runs amok and scampers onto a roof, off of which he then jumps while administrators try to bring him down.
O’Brien: Media hammers “Free Staters” ignores “future out of state voters” who riot
Speaking of a place that should have been locked down, Saturday’s riots at Keene State University have garnered lots of attention. Student parties in conjunction with the Pumpkin Festival, where Keene once again set a Guinness Book record for having the most lit jackolanters in one place at one time, more than thirty thousand, got out of hand as, by some estimates, up to four thousand students rioted on Wilcox Street. Dumpsters and even a car were overturned as police showed up in riot gear and launched tear gas cannisters and fired rubber bullets into the crowd. Fallout around the state has been swift and interesting. State Representative William Infantine, Republican of Manchester, has called for any kid proven to be part of the riot by photographic or video evidence to be immediately expelled, saying there should be no tolerance. State Rep. and former House Speaker Bill O’Brien, Republican from Mont Vernon used the occasion to condemn liberals. Wrote O’Brien Quote: The City of Keene has spent years now obsessing over the supposed public safety dangers from “Free Staters”…Liberals think that if they keep shouting out, “Free Staters” and “ALEC” and “Koch Brothers” voters will forget about ObamaCare lies and failures, Maggie Hassan’s incompetence and over-spending, Shaheen’s persuading the IRS to attack conservatives, Ann Kuster’s hiding from voters, etc. Yet, after years of trying to frighten people about some public-spirited newcomers, what now seems to be annual fall riots by students in Keene are downplayed by the Left and their propaganda outlets. For example, the Concord Monitor, the Left’s mouthpiece in our State’s capitol city, today has a shrill and worried story on the front page of its website about how 39 “Free Staters” are running for the NH House, but no article on last night’s student riot in Keene. Is it that the Liberals don’t want to get on the wrong side of next month’s Out of State voters?” End quote. More than a thousand Keene State students rioted last October after the Red Sox won the World Series. Here’s the story in the Keene Sentinel and Boston Globe.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Tambouris: Compelled to speak out for the kids.
A Manchester teacher has penned an editorial that seems to have burned through the community like the fire started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. Elementary school teacher Kelley Tambouris posted an impassioned missive on her Facebook page last Tuesday. Members of our audience made us aware of it on Friday and, with Tambouris’ permission, we published it to Oh My BLOG! on Girard at Large dot com at just before one o’clock Saturday afternoon. Since then, it’s received almost ten thousand clicks and has shown no sign of slowing down. In the article, Tambouris declares herself quote “(a)ngry, frustrated but most of all sad” end quote about how teachers have been burdened by nearly constant assessments and tests required by the district, along with its failure to provide materials to implement the district’s new academic standards, especially in math. Tambouris said it’s not so much that they didn’t provide materials that bothers her. It’s that they’ve now told teachers who were finding materials online that they can’t print them at the schools anymore because the district’s almost out of paper as a result of so many teachers printing online materials for their classes. In short, Tambouris seems to be protesting the district’s headlong rush into new classroom paradigms that have placed extraordinary demands on teacher time without preparation. The kids, says Tambouris, are suffering as a result. She will be our guest on Friday morning and we’ have, of course, linked to it from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
Levasseur: Finally found a legitimate issue against Manchester police.
Aldermen in Manchester have a busy week with several committee meetings today and several special meetings of the full board tomorrow and Wednesday. The special meeting on Wednesday involves a non public session for negotiations, which is interesting in and of itself. One item of note on tomorrow night’s agenda is an item from Alderman at Large Joe Kelly Levasseur. Seems he’s finally found something legitimate to complain about regarding Manchester’s police as it appears they’re operating in violation of their contracts with respect to the numbers of officers and supervisors that must live in the city versus the numbers that do. Only about a third of either group lives in Manchester, but their contracts require between fifty and sixty percent to live within the confines of the city. While there will no doubt be discussion, it is slated for referral to the board’s Human Resources Committee. In an interview with Girard at Large, Assistant Police Chief Nick Willard admitted the violation exists but said it was because keeping track of who lived where fell through the cracks, not out of any intent to violate the contract. He said department officials weren’t sure how to handle the situation, but was hopeful it could be resolved. Girard at Large has requested similar information on any and all bargaining units with residential requirements from the city’s Human Resources Department. Frankly, we’ve done so to bypass making the request through the City Clerk’s Office as he is now in violation of the law on multiple Right to Know Requests, which is another story we’re going to do something about.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next.
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