Chaos In The Hinsdale, NH Selectmen"s Office

You think they are overseeing the police like the clerks office?

Hinsdale selectmen order audit of townclerk's office

By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
SentinelSource.com

HINSDALE — Selectmen have ordered an audit of the town clerk’s office after an internal investigation found possible mismanagement there.

Chairman Michael J. Darcy said the two-month investigation, which recently concluded, found several questionable practices taking place under Town Clerk Tammy-Jean Akeley, including how money associated with motor vehicle registrations was handled, behavior toward customers and unannounced closings of the office.

According to the investigation, Akeley has been collecting both her salary and a $2.50 fee paid by residents who pay the state portion of their motor vehicle registrations through the town, Darcy said. She isn’t allowed to collect both under state law, he said.

State law says if the agent collecting the motor vehicle registrations is on salary to a town, the fee goes to the town. If the agent isn’t, the agent can collect the fee.

Akeley, who is paid $18,409 a year, is considered on salary, Town Administrator Jill E. Collins said Tuesday.

The investigation was discussed publicly for the first time publicly the selectmen’s meeting Monday night. It’s too early to tell how much an audit of Akeley’s office will cost, Collins said.

The $2.50 agent’s fee had been going into an account for state fees, and then going back to Akeley at the end of the month, Darcy said.

The town collects about $12,000 in agent’s fees per year, and it’s believed that Akeley received about $120,000 to $150,000 of those funds during her tenure, he said.

“It was during our research that we came across this,” he said. “I’m not privy to what happened with other town clerks, but I know the previous town clerk was only getting fees and a small stipend.”

In a phone interview Tuesday, Akeley said she is allowed to collect both her salary and the fees.

“Originally when I took over 13 years ago, (the town) paid me to do town stuff. I also issue plates and decals, and I’m allowed by law to collect the $2.50,” she said.

Akeley was scheduled to appear before selectmen at the meeting Monday at 7 p.m., but didn’t attend. She was in the tax collector office, where she ended up working until 9:30 p.m., she said.

This practice of collecting both a salary and the agent’s fees wasn’t something that came into question until the internal investigation, Darcy said. Selectmen have since stopped it, and are looking into Akeley possibly paying restitution to the town. The restitution could only be collected for the past three years, according to state law, he said.

Selectmen were looking at how the town clerk and tax collector positions could be kept separate when they found some disparities and began an investigation, Darcy said. Akeley has been town clerk for years, and became tax collector this year after being elected to the position in March.

It’s a failure on both the part of the town clerk and the selectmen that this situation wasn’t addressed sooner, Darcy said.

While the town does have an annual audit, auditors wouldn’t have picked up on these types of issues, Collins said.

Selectmen also said that funds collected in both offices weren’t being deposited in a timely manner. Darcy said that any deposit being made by the tax collector’s office equaling $1,500 or more needed to be deposited within a day of receiving it, according to state law and town policy.

“We had a lapse of time of a two-week period where no deposits were being made, and we have just found out there was a significant deposit that was not made for 20 days,” he said.

Selectmen are also concerned that the money collected in the town clerk’s office isn’t being kept separate from the funds collected by the tax collector, he said.

“Hopefully one of the parts of this process will be for us to get a better handle on the control of that process, and making sure we are able to feel secure with where the money is at all times,” he said.

Akeley said she has been keeping the two offices separate, and trying to make deposits as quickly as she can. Until recently, she had been running the tax collector office alone because Deputy Tax Collector Maria Shaw had been out with a fractured hip. With Shaw back at work, the tax collector office is open more hours, Akeley said.

Another concern of the selectmen was how Akeley was treating people coming to the town clerk and tax collector offices.

The board recently received a citizen complaint about Akeley allegedly telling a customer to “kiss my (expletive),” Darcy said.

She had also taken nine days off in the past four months with no notice, he said.

Akeley said she tries to let people know when the town clerk and tax collector offices will be closed in advance, and there was one instance when she was sick and had to call in at the last minute.

“It’s nice to hear from a handful of people who are upset with me,” she said. “I probably have a stack of papers of people I have helped single-handedly.”

Angels: No coincidences

No coincidences

Brattleboro welcomes ‘Watching Angels’public art installation in September

Oginally published in The Commons issue #217 (Wednesday, August 21, 2013).

---

By Richard Henke/The Commons

BRATTLEBORO—Independent artist Meg Donahue wondered what would happen if a whole town started watching for angels.

She asked herself how her community might react if, for one month, angels started appearing in Brattleboro in the most unexpected places: on the parking meter, behind the co-op, inside a shopping cart, in a coffee shop, on the steeple of the old church that is now a dance studio.

“You are driving into town to run errands,” she says. “It’s hot, you can’t find a parking space, and finally you manage to squeeze into a spot in Harmony Lot. You hop out of your car and hurry to your first appointment. On the parking lot side of the Tulip Café you notice an interesting piece of art. This might be a putti, a sculpture, or a painting — some interpretation of an angel. Intrigued, you glance at the placard, which reads: ‘There are no coincidences. You’ve spotted this angel for a reason.’”

Donahue took that vision and turned it into a town-wide exhibition. As producer and the central artist of Watching Angels Interactive Public Art Show, and with the help of submissions from 40 artists and artist teams, she has organized non-permanent, exterior public artwork of 100 angels in September throughout Brattleboro.

Donahue says, “‘Watching Angels’ is a month-long interactive public art show based on two simple questions: What if you really could see angels? What if, when you spotted an angel, it had a message just for you? My goal is to place a hundred angels throughout downtown Brattleboro in interesting and quirky locations for the delight and enjoyment of the community. Each angel will have a specific message just for the viewer, retrievable via a placard next to the artwork with the name of the artist.”

She says that the show started with a small idea for just herself.

“Then I thought, Why not ask other artists to join me,” she adds.

She went on Kickstarter (http://kck.st/1aJAgjk) with a call to the public to create an angel of the participant’s own visions. As Donahue explains, “Our artists could be painters, sculptors, musicians, children, folks from the senior center, 3-D mapping projectionists. The goal is to keep the whole idea closer to guerrilla art than organized art.”

Artists responded from Vermont and all over the country: Maine, New York, California, Ohio, and Illinois. There were also responses from Greece, Austria, Denmark, and South Africa.

In fact, some of these locations that are too far away to join in Brattleboro’s festivities are planning satellite “Watching Angels” in their own area.

Donahue says she has no distinct idea of what constitutes an angel for each artist. The angel might well be a classical renaissance putti, which perhaps is what most people imagine an angel would look like.

“But a broad definition of angel is encouraged,” Donahue says, “with the only guidelines being that the image should look for a representation of our higher or better selves.”

Why is Donahue fascinated with angels?

“It certainly is no religious thing,” she says. “Although angels can be seen as a religious image, there are angels everywhere: angel investors, angel food cake, angel hair pasta, and the California Angels baseball team. We thank helpful people by saying, ‘You’re an angel,’ and describe beautiful singing voices as angelic.

“Most importantly, we are inspired by everyday angels, like the Boston Marathon runners who just kept on running to the hospital to donate blood. Or the Vermont National Guard members who stepped up 24/7 to help us recover more quickly from Hurricane Irene. Or the nurses who went above and beyond to take care of my daughter who was born 14 weeks early. These angels, as well as the winged versions, will be celebrated by the show ‘Watching Angels.’

The policy for submission for the show specifically states that pieces cannot contain advertising, religious art, sexual content, negative imagery or convey political partisanship. Our intent is to be an uplifting, positive, and inspiring show in the way that the angels among us remind us of the best of ourselves,” Donahue says.

Each angel will have an identifying placard with its name and an uplifting and interesting message.

A viewer might read a Maori proverb, “Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you.”

Or a quote from Marianne Williamson: “Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”

A person stumbling upon an angel might find words of inspiration from such diverse sources as St. Francis of Assisi, Goethe, or even someone anonymous.

The message could be as simple as, “You’re awesome.”

The placard also contains a QR code that directs someone scanning it with a mobile device to a simple, elegant, interactive website where there are other messages associated with each angel.

“We want to make the ‘Watching Angels’ experience immediate, compounding the joy of seeing an angel in an unexpected place with easy access to an ‘angel message’ via smart phone or computer,” Donahue says.

At the “Watching Angels” art show website, people can find a page for each angel and its message for the viewer.

“With a nod to kismet, each angel has many messages.” says Donahue. “Therefore even though you may visit the same angel on the Web twice in a day, the message may or may not be the same. In addition to its message, next to the angel is information about its artist, a brief bio, and sometimes a link to the artists’ websites.”

After the month-long public “Watching Angels” art show, all remaining angels will gather at an art show titled “A Gathering of Angels Gala.”

“Whatever angels that are left will be there,” Donahue says. “I am not sure how many angels will be stolen throughout the month. I guess if someone feels compelled to steal an angel, that person must need it for some reason. But all others will be on sale at the closing gala.”

Donahue says she hopes to encourage the whole community to get into angels. “Go to our website (www.watchingangelsartshow.com) or scan our QR code, and get our personal uplifting message,” Donahue says. “It just may be what you need to hear today.”

Vermont Yankee Permanently Shutting Down In 2014

I think Entergy is getting worried about the public and NRC’s reputation of them with uncontrolled operational problems within their fleet...resources/money...so they are beginning to consolidate assets into their most viable nuclear plants...

Brattleboro Reformer:

 

BREAKING: Entergy to close, decommission Vermont Yankee

 

BRATTLEBORO -- Entergy Corporation, the owners of Vermont Yankee Nuclear plant in Vernon, on Tuesday morning announced plans to close and decommission the power station following its current fuel cycle.

 

In a release Entergy stated the decision was "driven by sustained low power prices, high cost structure and wholesale electricity market design flaws for Vermont Yankee plant."

It added that Entergy's focus would "remain on safety during remaining operation and after shutdown."

"This was an agonizing decision and an extremely tough call for us," said Leo Denault, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "Vermont Yankee has an immensely talented, dedicated and loyal workforce, and a solid base of support among many in the community. We recognize that closing the plant on this schedule was not the outcome they had hoped for, but we have reluctantly concluded that it is the appropriate action for us to take under the circumstances."

The following is the rest of Entergy's statement. We will have full coverage later later.

***

The decision to close Vermont Yankee in 2014 was based on a number of financial factors, including:

A natural gas market that has undergone a transformational shift in supply due to the impacts of shale gas, resulting in sustained low natural gas prices and wholesale energy prices.

A high cost structure for this single unit plant. Since 2002, the company has invested more than $400 million in the safe and reliable operation of the facility. In addition, the financial impact of cumulative regulation is especially challenging to a small plant in these market conditions.

Wholesale market design flaws that continue to result in artificially low energy and capacity prices in the region, and do not provide adequate compensation to merchant nuclear plants for the fuel diversity benefits they provide.

Making the decision now and operating through the fourth quarter of 2014 allows time to duly and properly plan for a safe and orderly shutdown and prepare filings with the NRC regarding shutdown and decommissioning. Entergy will establish a decommissioning planning organization responsible for planning and executing the safe and efficient decommissioning of the facility. Once the plant is shut down, workers will de-fuel the reactor and place the plant into SAFSTOR, a process whereby a nuclear facility is placed and maintained in a condition that allows it to be safely secured, monitored and stored.

"We are committed to the safe and reliable operation of Vermont Yankee until shutdown, followed by a safe, orderly and environmentally responsible decommissioning process," Denault said.

Commenting on the future of nuclear power, Denault said: "Entergy remains committed to nuclear as an important long-term component of its generating portfolio. Nuclear energy is safe, reliable, carbon-free and contributes to supply diversity and energy security as part of a balanced energy portfolio."

Financial Implications

Entergy plans to recognize an after-tax impairment charge of approximately $181 million in the third quarter of 2013 related to the decision to shut down the plant at the end of this current operating cycle. In addition to this initial charge, Entergy expects to recognize charges totaling approximately $55 to $60 million associated with future severance and employee retention costs through the end of next year. These charges will be classified as special items, and therefore, excluded from operational results.

The company noted that the estimated operational earnings contribution from Vermont Yankee was expected to be around breakeven in 2013, and generally declining over the next few years. As a result of this decision and based on continuing operations into fourth quarter 2014, the estimated operational earnings change, excluding these special items, is expected to be modestly accretive within two years after shutdown, and cash flow is expected to increase approximately $150 to $200 million in total through 2017, compared to Vermont Yankee's continued operation.

Regarding decommissioning, assuming end of operations in fourth quarter 2014, the amount required to meet the NRC minimum for decommissioning financial assurance for license termination is $566 million. The Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust had a balance of approximately $582 million as of July 31, 2013, excluding the $40 million guarantee by Entergy Corporation to satisfy NRC requirements following the 2009 review of financial assurance levels. Filings with the NRC for planned shutdown activities will determine whether any other financial assurance may be required and will specifically address funding for spent fuel management, which will be required until the federal government takes possession of the fuel and removes it from the site, per its current obligations.

Vermont Yankee, a single unit boiling water reactor, began commercial operation in 1972. Entergy acquired the plant from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation in 2002. In March 2011, the NRC renewed the station's operating license for an additional 20 years, until 2032.

Additional information regarding today's announcement is available in the Frequently Asked Questions section of www.entergy.com.

Entergy Corporation, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

 

Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Vital Power Supply Problems.

Hmm, why did the NRC mention this. More leaking Safety Relief Valves.

The first was the need to use safety relief valves to control the pressure...  

You get it, these guys are having a tough time staying up at power because of unreliable equipment?
Basically the power to the"annunciators and to the feedwater flow control and monitors are vital electrical power load. Sounds like these are related...

We don't have a write up yet on what caused the annunciators power problems...

UPDATED: Pilgrim nuclear reactor shut down

Problem appears to be with electrical system monitoring pumps that feed water to reactor

By Frank Mand 

Wicked Local Plymouth

Posted Aug 22, 2013 @ 04:01 PM

Initial troubleshooting indicated that there was no problem with the flow of water but, rather, a problem with the electrical power for the system that monitors the flow. The reactor operators followed plant procedure and took the plant offline, while back-up pumps automatically activated to maintain the water level in the reactor.

“We are continuing to gather details,” the NRC release stated, noting that the information-gathering process includes having the plant’s two resident inspectors report to the control room to independently verify that the shutdown was proceeding safely. The plant’s senior resident inspector is working with plant staff to diagnose the problem.

Early warning alarm shuts down at nuclear plant

clegere@capecodonline.com

July 16, 2013

Panels of alarms designed to quickly warn personnel of operational failures at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station mysteriously shut down at 12:30 a.m. Monday and just as mysteriously restarted at 2:05 a.m.

The system failure required Entergy, the Louisiana-based owner and operator of the Pilgrim plant, to report "an unusual event" to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

NRC experts are now trying to determine the cause of the failure. Meanwhile the plant is operating at full power, prompting an outcry from area nuclear watchdogs who say the operation should be shut down until the mystery of the alarm system failure is solved.

Mary Lampert, a Duxbury resident and director of Pilgrim Watch, said her anti-nuclear organization plans to send a statement to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today.

"Until they go over it with a fine-tooth comb and until they can say 100 percent that it's fixed, they have no business staying operational," Lampert said.

The alarms, called "annunciators," are the first warning but not the only warning of a malfunction, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. "They are there to call prompt attention to an issue, but plants also have gauges and other means for personnel to monitor, plus they have operators out in the field," he said.

This Is The Future For Us

Sept 7

 The Vilas was closed to vehicular traffic in 2009, and residents are unhappy plans to repair or replace it have been deferred. At the time it was closed, a reported average of 4,600 vehicles crossed the structure every day and village residents now say businesses are suffering because the traffic from Walpole, N.H., has been cut off.

 Ours is 10,000 a day...

Except: Our river is too wide and deep for a temp bridge...
Compared to our 1921 bridge, this guy was cut down in its youth.

Come on people, the writing is on the wall. There are two dead bridges within 60 miles north of us. These guys died in their preverbal youth. The Vilas Bridge was built in 1930 and US 4 Lebanon, NH-Hartford Bridge was built in 1936. Do you honestly think they took better care of the Hinsdale Bridges...how can no upkeep be better that the others?

One of the NHDOT good old boys would never get fired for turning a $10 million dollar bridge replacement into a $13 million dollar job. They wasted $3 million dollars on the temp bridge because they didn't replace the 1936 bridge in a timely manner.

"CPM Constructors, of Freeport, Maine was the general contractor for the $2.9 million temporary bridge project. Morrill Construction, of North Haverhill, New Hampshire performed site work."

The Lebanon-Harford bridge was shutdown on runaway cancerous and dangerous corrosion. Do you get the feeling they need to call the bridge unsafe before they begin to plan for a replacement?

So they run a bridge till it fails...  

Vilas Bridge: 1930

US 4 Lebanon, NH-Hartford: 1936 

Hinsdale route 119: 1921

By Jordan Cuddemi

Valley News Staff Writer

Friday, August 2, 2013
(Published in print: Friday, August 2, 2013)

        

Building Razed to Make Way for Bridge Project

White River Junction — A vacant apartment building at the corner of Route 4 and Prospect Street was mostly torn down Thursday to make way for construction of a new permanent bridge between White River Junction and West Lebanon.     

The bidding period for companies interested in the bridge project closed yesterday afternoon, and once New Hampshire awards the contract, work is expected to be completed by October 2015 at an estimated cost of $10 million.A temporary bridge was installed in 2009 after the existing span built in 1936 was closed due to unsafe levels of corrosion.A dust cloud rose Thursday while workers from Nott’s Excavating, of White River Junction, used a backhoe to raze the vacant three-story, 3,400-square-foot former apartment building that was built in 1920.

Old mattresses, Star Trek posters, dated appliances and building materials accumulated into an unsightly pile of rubble. All that stood last night was the corner of the building nearest the closed bridge.

 

Temporary US 4 Lebanon, NH-Hartford, VT Bridge Opens

Removal Of 10-Ton Weight Posting Will Allow Truck Traffic On Connecticut River Bridge Until A New Bridge Can Be Built  

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) announces a newly constructed temporary bridge carrying US Route 4 over the Connecticut River between Lebanon, New Hampshire (Bridge Street) and Hartford, Vermont (Maple Street) opened today to traffic.

The temporary bridge allows full legal loads. It also has a sidewalk open for pedestrian traffic.

The 390-foot long US Route 4 Bridge was built in 1936 and rebuilt in 1976. It is a State of New Hampshire "Red List" bridge, with more frequent inspections required due to known deficiencies. The bridge was posted at a 10-Ton load limit in July of 2008 that restricted heavy truck traffic. It has now been closed to all traffic and motorists are being detoured onto the temporary bridge. Current plans are to advertise for a permanent bridge replacement in 2012.

CPM Constructors, of Freeport, Maine was the general contractor for the $2.9 million temporary bridge project. Morrill Construction, of North Haverhill, New Hampshire performed site work.

Truck Restrictions On Lebanon, Nh – Hartford, Vt Bridge

Us Route 4 Bridge Over The Connecticut River

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the Vermont Agency of Transportation announce the planned restriction of heavy truck traffic and the use of alternating one-way traffic on the US Route 4 Bridge over the Connecticut River connecting Lebanon, New Hampshire (Bridge Street) and Hartford (White River Junction), Vermont (Maple Street) on Monday, July 21, 2008.

This truck restriction will be in place pending further inspections and evaluation of the bridge. Initial evaluations and analysis of the bridge have found continued and significant corrosion on the steel structure. Depending on what further inspections show, it is possible the bridge will be posted to a 10-ton load capacity to protect public safety.

Signs will be in place beginning July 18 alerting motorists to the trucking restrictions and advising trucks to seek alternate routes, including the Interstate 89 bridges over the Connecticut River.

The 390-foot long US Route 4 Bridge was built in 1936 and rebuilt in 1976. It is a State of New Hampshire “Red List” bridge, with more frequent inspections required due to known deficiencies. It is scheduled to be replaced in 2010.

Bridges and Judges: Treated Poorly By Concord.

Bridges and judges: inadequate Infrastructure.

So what about a point system...where we could figure out per population, say if Concord crimes are worse than Keene...

How about a point system where we could evaluated the outcome of a court case...are the sentences or found not guilty amount comparable ?

I just got a feeling the slow Superior court and the Hinsdale bridge is the same problem. We are not respected like other areas.

But I have little evidence that this areas roads are worse than the more populated and eastern areas of the state...

Criminal cases take more time to resolve in Cheshire County than others; solutions explored

By Kyle Jarvis Sentinel Staff
SentinelSource.com

Posted on August 20, 2013

by Kyle Jarvis

Criminal cases take more time to resolve in Cheshire County Superior Court than in most other counties in the state, according to recent statistics from the N.H. court system.

But one court official has her eye on some changes that could improve things, including adding additional judges to the system and offering a different way to resolve cases.

It takes an average of 284 days to resolve criminal cases in Cheshire County, about 28 days longer than the statewide average of 256. And it’s 104 days longer than the standard of 180 days set by the American Bar Association, according to the association’s website.

The county with the quickest resolutions is Sullivan County, where criminal cases take an average of 111 days.

Based on the average lengths of cases heard this year between Jan. 1 and June 30, Cheshire ranks eighth — out of 11 superior courts in the state (Hillsborough County has two superior courts). Only Rockingham (289 days), Hillsborough North (296 days), and Carroll (302 days) counties have longer averages for closing out criminal cases.

Paul G. Schweizer, a Keene-based defense attorney who has practiced law in the region since 1982, said he was surprised to hear where Cheshire County ranks.

“If someone wants to have a trial in a quicker-than-normal fashion, the county will always accommodate that,” he said. “I’ve never been exposed to a situation where I felt like I was not getting a court date or a trial as quickly as I wanted one or thought it was fair to have one.”

Schweizer said it’s important to provide context when examining the numbers.

“Oftentimes cases get continued for one reason or another by one side or the other,” he said. “If a motion to continue is filed, it’s normally accommodated.”

Sometimes, Schweizer said, the prosecution and the defense in a criminal case are able to reach a plea deal well before a final court date.

“Since that’s already done, nobody’s pushing hard” to get the case closed out, he said. “A lot of times cases seem like they’re going longer, but they’re already settled.”

Cheshire County’s ranking, and the larger, statewide problem, is one Superior Court Chief Justice Tina L. Nadeau is well aware of.

“When I started a couple years ago as chief, I was looking at the numbers, and thought, ‘OK, we do need to pay attention to this,’ ” she said.

Nadeau said the counties near the bottom — Carroll, Cheshire, Hillsborough and Rockingham — typically have larger case loads than other counties, and therefore longer resolution times are expected.

But while New Hampshire’s superior court system has performed well compared to other states, Nadeau believes it can do better.

“It’s an opportunity to see how we can improve,” she said.

Richard Guerriero, also a Keene-based defense attorney, believes the state’s primary problem is the lack of available judges, “which is another way of saying there’s a funding issue,” he said.

“I’m sure there are new efficiencies that can be found, but the reality is you can only do so much with one judge,” he said.

Nadeau agreed.

“One piece of the picture is we’re supposed to have 22 judges, based on number of cases we’ve had,” she said. “We only have 18. We definitely have been operating with fewer judges than when I started in 1996, (when) I was the 29th judge.”

Nadeau said recent conversations with Gov. Maggie Hassan showed the two were in agreement that 18 superior court judges is “probably just barely enough to keep our heads above water,” and that Hassan and the Legislature “agreed we need at least two more.”

But reaching a 20-judge total is still a ways out; one new position is budgeted for the current fiscal year, while the other is slated for next fiscal year, Nadeau said.

In the meantime, she has other ideas for streamlining the process, including possibly implementing “early case resolution,” which has worked effectively in Strafford County, she said.

Early case resolution occurs when the prosecution and defense consistently work together on a case where a defendant is likely to admit guilt, Nadeau said.

Nadeau said 95 to 98 percent of criminal cases end in the defendant admitting guilt, so there’s no need to come to court repeatedly for hearings with early case resolution, she said.

Under this format, a prosecutor obtains relevant facts in a case within 24 hours of an arrest and works with a defense attorney to come up with an agreeable result, Nadeau said.

“It’s really different from the sort of posturing and negotiating in plea negotiations,” she said.

The prosecutor pitches a “final best offer,” with the understanding from the defense attorney that “if his client doesn’t take it that day, it’s off the table, and the judge knows, too, so everybody knows the rules of the game,” she said.

Nadeau likes this idea because studies show offenders who begin serving sentences faster are less likely to re-offend, she said.

Guerriero likes it, too, as long as attorneys can opt out if they “feel the full process is necessary at any point.”

Nadeau also favors using “settlement judges.”

Nadeau said settlement judges act more like mediators for prosecutors and defense attorneys, and can get more involved than a trial judge by meeting with parties in a case to hear its strengths and weaknesses in an informal setting.

“I think it’s another good idea to get a good look at cases early on,” she said.

Nadeau also said she’s also in favor of pushing felony cases straight to superior court, instead of starting them in district court, where judges have no authority to act on them. In the current setup, criminal cases start with a district court arraignment and probable cause hearing, before they are forwarded to superior court. The system is designed to ensure prosecutors have enough evidence to move forward with a case.

Guerriero supports the idea of streamlining this process, he said, because it makes sense for the superior court judge and county prosecutor to work on the case from the start, instead of having it handed up to them from district court officials.

But he said it’s also important to retain the probable cause hearing process to move the case along.

Nadeau said her intention is for these programs to be voluntary.

A superior court working group Nadeau recently helped form is charged with developing a felony case-flow plan, to see how and where changes might speed things up, she said.

It’s going to take this kind of creativity to solve issues in Cheshire County and beyond, Nadeau said.

“Let’s be innovative, and see what we can all live with.”

Littering In Hinsdale

Count 3

Aug 20:

163-B:3

163-B:3 Unlawful Activities. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to dump, deposit, throw or leave, or to cause or permit the dumping, depositing, placing, throwing or leaving of litter on any public or private property in this state, or in or on ice or in any waters in this state, unless: I. Such property is designated by the state or by any of its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of such litter, and such person is authorized by the proper public authority to use such property; II. Such litter is placed into a litter receptacle or container installed on such property; III. Such person is the owner or tenant in lawful possession of such property, or has first obtained consent of the owner or tenant in lawful possession, or unless the act is done under the personal direction of said owner or tenant, all in a manner consistent with the public welfare. Source. 1971, 144:1, eff. July 25, 1971. 163-B:4 Penalties. I. Any person violating the provisions of RSA 163-B:3, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, or, in lieu thereof, in the sound discretion of any court in which conviction is obtained, any such person may be directed by the judge of such court to pick up and remove from any public street or highway or public or private right-of-way, or public beach or public park, or with prior permission of the legal owner or tenant in lawful possession of such property, any private property upon which it has been established by competent evidence that he has deposited litter, any and all litter deposited thereon by anyone prior to the date of execution of sentence. II. The court is hereby directed to publish the names of persons convicted of violating the provisions of RSA 163-B:3. Source. 1971, 144:1. 1973, 90:1; 528:90, eff. at 11:59 P.M., Oct. 31, 1973.

Littering—Unlawful activities RSA 163-B.3
 

...”did leave a sign with the phrase “NEED NEW SIGN” written in black ink on a white poster board on public property...”

So what is NH’s definition of “litter”?

Could they charge me with criminal DUI just to get bail conditions on me, which would provent me from protesting...I am talking about knowingly charging me with a fabricated charge unrelated to my activities based uppon professional police and court ethics?

Definition

: trash, wastepaper, or garbage lying scattered about litter

>

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, in an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw (often man-made) objects onto the ground and leave them as opposed to disposing of them properly. 

a.A disorderly accumulation of objects; a pile.

b. Carelessly discarded refuse, such as wastepaper: the litter in the streets after a parade

NEW HAMPSHIRE STATUTES AND CODES

Section 163-B:3 Unlawful Activities.

"It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to dump, deposit, throw or leave, or to cause or permit the dumping, depositing, placing, throwing or leaving of litter on any public or private property in this state, or in or on ice or in any waters in this state, unless:"

 

So I taped a sign on a bridge, my intent was to send a message to the driving public...to collect my signs when I accomplished my task. I didn’t tape a sign to a bridge and then abandon it...I came back to the area every day, every other day or so on. I never abandoned my signs. I wasn’t abandoning rubbish on public property.

 

I am going to ask the cops if they got a dictionary...cause my activities wasn’t included in RSA 163-B3. 

 

Right, with litter, it never carries a public or political message like my message did...

 

And the little island I protest on is mostly abandoned property...Trans Canada owns the property. These are the guys who own the dam that creates the little Connecticut River reservoir.

I wonder if you could sue them to clean up their blighted properties.

 

But they charge me with littering...the island is mostly an unregulated dump. There is tons of trash on the state property and more tons on Trans Canada property....this is a mass littering area. It cost a lots of money to get rid of trash in our area.

 

I’ll bet you I am the only one who was ever charge with littering on this island and on this state property...

 

What I did is not related to littering and it doesn’t fit within RSA 163-B.3...

 

And at the bottom of the complaint...he signed off on this:

"Making a false statement on this complaint may result in criminal prosecution"...