Also on today’s menu:
Granite State Student Debt Relief
Murder And Attempted Murder Indictments Filed
Is Governor Exempt From RTK?
It is not easy to fool Barbara Greenwood, and Shaun Lagueux, chair of the Bristol Board of Selectmen, apologized for “perpetuating a nasty conspiracy” in order to ensure that she attended the March 2 meeting at which the town would announce the recipient of the Town Report dedication. He had led her to believe she should attend to see another town resident conferred with the honor.
When he announced, “This year, our dedication of the Bristol Town Report is to Barbara Greenwood,” she was genuinely surprised — and immediately downplayed her participation in everything from the Bristol Community Center (now the Tapply-Thompson Community Center) and the Bristol Recreation Advisory Council to advocating for education and serving as a teacher’s aide at Bristol Elementary School to helping to found the Bristol Historical Society; serving as library trustee and helping to push through a library addition as well as advocating for a new town hall and public works building; working with the annual Santa’s Village and helping to bring back Old Home Day as well as promoting downtown revitalization; serving as a ballot clerk for 20 years; and serving on other town boards and committees.
That is just what is expected of a good citizen, she said.
During her first year in Bristol, she was named the second-ever Bristol Winter Carnival Queen, but she said the award that meant the most to her was receiving the DAR Good Citizenship Award in 1951 as the first high school recipient in Bristol. “That award meant so much to me — it still does,” she said, “and I hope that is what I’ve done over the years.”
Granite State Student Debt Relief
Governor Chris Sununu’s budget proposal includes a new program to provide student debt relief for Granite Staters who work in the biotechnology industry; as nurses in the New Hampshire State Hospital, the Glencliff Home, and the New Hampshire Veterans’ Home; and in other positions that require a medical license to provide care to patients.
The program also would allow the commissioner of the Department of Business and Economic Affairs to designate other professions as eligible for the debt relief “as long as it is consistent with the state’s 10-year economic development plan.” Recipients must have worked in the state for a minimum of three years to qualify for the debt relief.
The program would be funded by utilizing half of the state’s existing fund for college scholarships.
Murder And Attempted Murder Indictments Filed
A Hillsborough County Superior Court Grand Jury-Southern District has returned indictments against Robert Gagnon, 45, charging him with one count of attempted murder for shooting Carlos Quintong, 44, of Brookline; first-degree murder for killing Robert Prest, 83, of Lyndeborough with a hatchet, with an alternative count of causing his death while attempting to commit a robbery with a deadly weapon; and three counts of theft by unauthorized taking for possession of a Jeep SUV owned by Brian LaCroix of Peterborough and a firearm and BMW sedan owned by Prest.
The crimes took place on November 23, 2022, and the grand jury handed up the indictments on February 16, 2023. Attorney-General John Formella announced the indictments on March 2, saying Gagnon will be arraigned “at a time and date to be determined” in Hillsborough County Superior Court–Southern District.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but an independent jury’s decision, after hearing from police, that sufficient evidence exists to warrant a court trial.
Is Governor Exempt From RTK?
The question of whether New Hampshire governors’ communications are subject to the state’s Right-To-Know Law remains after the New Hampshire Supreme Court deadlocked, 2-2, on the case, with Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald recusing himself because of his former role as attorney-general.
Louise Spencer of the Kent Street Coalition sought copies of a series of emails between Sununu staffers and employees of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, a group led by former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, before and after Sununu vetoed a 2019 bill to create an independent redistricting panel.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the matter in September 2021 but did not rule on the case until this week when it issued a two-page order that effectively lets stand a superior court ruling that emails prior to the governor’s veto are subject to executive privilege and emails sent after the veto are not government records.
The larger question of exemptions from RSA 91-A for a New Hampshire governor remain unanswered.
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On Complicated Legal Case: Thank you for spreading the word on the Slim Baker Foundation, a wonderful local resource!
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What a perfect recognition for the Town of Bristol to make! Barbara loves her town and it shows in all she has done for many years. We have all benefitted in many ways from her work and efforts. Thank you, Barbara.