EXETER TOWN MANAGER’S CONTRACT!!!

EXETER TOWN MANAGER’S CONTRACT!!!

With hypocrisy reaching new levels in Exeter I just could not resist adding my two cents worth about the extended seven year contract negotiated by the Board of Selectman with the Town Manager on a vote of 3-2.

Anybody that watches the BOS meetings on channel 22 can’t help but notice that the lunatic fringe is getting active again.  We have one of the founding members of the fringe on the board with another board member who has been inducted into the Lunatic Fringe Hall of Fame for a frequent vote of 3-2 on many issues.  It is pretty obvious that the (2) are not good fits for the Board.  I believe they have an agenda that is not good for the Town of Exeter.

I am sure that anyone watching the Selectmen’s meetings can see the toxic political environment that is permeating Exeter.  Fortunately we have a selectman’s election coming up in about a month and can make the needed adjustments at that time.

Let’s look at why the BOS agreed to a seven year contract for the Town Manager.  The lunatic Fringe has been trying to get the TM fired or harass him to the point that he quits.  He was sued by the Fringe, and harassed, as well as the Selectmen, at almost every meeting.  This politically unstable group wants to either run the town or be a shadow government that runs the town.

If the Fringe gets one more vote on the BOS the Town Manager would be gone except by the new contract that was negotiated to keep him for (7)  years and hard to fire him without cause.  The TM has children in school and it would be bad for the town and his family to be under the constant threat of losing his job and family livelihood just because the Fringe wants to prove they have power.

My question to the voters and taxpayers in Exeter is what direction is Exeter going in that you don’t like?  We do have a healthy discussion on growth verses not in my back yard (NIMBY’S) who don’t want any growth.  The town is vibrant, beautiful and I believe moving in the right direction on most fronts (except the dam). I believe three members of the BOS understood this when they negotiated the TM’s contract.

Generally, I would not support an extended contract but because of this politically toxic environment I think it was fair to the TM and the Town of Exeter to continue to move Exeter forward.  It looks like the TM, for just cause, can still be removed; but difficult for personal or political design. So Russ don’t screw up.

A FELLOW COMBAT VETERAN SPEAKS UP!!!

This was given to the Stratham Selectman's Office, the Marine who sent it did not want his name used in my blog; but signed the letter to the BOS.  If you're not a combat veteran you wouldn't understand.

To whom it may concern,

   I am a combat Veteran who served with the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Alpha Company in Vietnam. I've been a resident of the Town of Stratham for the past thirty-five years and have an engraved brick installed within the Veterans Memorial at Stratham Hill Park.

   My comrades and I experienced heavy combat. Within my Battalion we lost 223 men Killed In Action. As of 2003, of the 223 men, 29 bodies still have not been recovered and brought home.

   Fourteen of those 29 men still listed as MIA/BNR, (Missing In Action-Body Not Recovered) were from my Company, Alpha Company.

   If there is no room within the Stratham Veterans Memorial for the POW-MIA Flag which represents my Brothers, still Missing In Action, than there is no room for me. Because of this lack of respect shown for the POW-MIA Flag and my Brothers, I view the Veterans Memorial as a place of no honor.  

   Therefore, I request that my brick be removed immediately and not reinstalled until the appropriate honor and recognition of my lost Brothers is allowed within the Veterans Memorial at Stratham Hill Park.

STRATHAM: THE FIGHT FOR THE MIA /POW FLAG POLE!!!

 

I am very proud of the voters, taxpayers and Military Veterans in Stratham for fighting back against a very poor and disrespectful decision, by their Board of Selectmen, to not allow the MIA/POW Flag to be flown at Veterans Park in the Stratham Hill Park.

 

 The citizen petitions, and they’re several being circulated, have been garnering names and disbelief as to why they can’t pay respect to those who have died and unable to be recovered.  Now it just seems to be a battle of wills from the Selectmen against the voters and taxpayers of Stratham.  The big question is, are there enough signers and voters to start replacing the Selectmen?  Elected Officials very rarely win a battle with the voters in the long run.  Will this be the second loss for the selectmen, the first being the water vote and now this?

 

It is also very disappointing to see the local newspaper not getting a real feeling for what is going on and the issues being fought over.  The Seacoast Newspapers have been having a problem with readership and will probably lose more over missing the meaning of this issue.

 

PETER WIGGIN has done a remarkable job of communicating this issue, and has shown the love and respect the WIGGINS, the first family of Stratham, have for doing the right thing, and the wonderful people of Stratham have heard the message. It is not just the veterans fighting for this, it is the wives, husbands, sons, daughters, grand children and grand parents signing these petitions they are carrying the fight.  There is a very large, but, quiet veteran’s population in Stratham each with untold stories and missing friends who, are supporting this effort

 

STRATHAM KEEP UP THE FIGHT YOU ARE TAKING BACK YOUR TOWN!!!

THE BIBLICAL TRUMP!!!

Donald Trump is constantly bombarded by questions concerning his spirituality, alleged Christian beliefs and so forth.

He was recently asked if he could quote any Bible verses.  He replied,

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Deport him and you do not have to feed him again."

Trump 20:16

STRATHAMS SHAME!!!

STRATHAM’S SHAME!!!

I remember growing up in Exeter and appreciating the simplicity, beauty and togetherness of the area; including Stratham.  Stratham was a beautiful rural farming community. 

Stratham is between Exeter (which was its closest shopping area and Portsmouth which was a bigger shopping area with more hustle and bustle.  In fact if you hadn’t seen someone in awhile just go grocery shopping in Exeter on a Friday or Saturday night, you’ll find them.  Everybody pretty much knew everybody else.

Times have changed Stratham, looks like Salem, NH, with the auto mile and no central district.  But the one thing that has not changed much is Stratham Hill Park.  Over the years it has been upgraded and everybody enjoys the Stratham Fair.  One of the upgrades is the town has added their small but meaningful veterans park that was designed and built by Peter Wiggin.  The Wiggin family is probably the oldest family to still live in Stratham and is so much part of the Town’s history.  Peter’s love for Stratham is sincere and genuine and he always gives with little takes.

Now the political governing body in Stratham is refusing to allow the POW Flag to be flown at their Veterans Park.  In fact one person on a local board referred to the POW flag as a hate flag and supposedly one of the Selectmen said there was no place for the flag to be flown in Stratham.  This takes me back to the hippie 60’s where people would smoke a lot of pot and protest the Vietnam War and those of us who suffered and fought through it.  If my theory is correct this proves how bad long term use of marihuana is on the human brain.

POWs as we refer to are dead, they know they're dead, I know they're dead and we know they're dead.  This flag honors those bodies yet to be reclaimed.  By not allowing the POW Flag to be flown where other veterans are honored is absolutely shameful and not only brings shame to the Selectmen but to the Town itself.  I know many of the woerful people in Stratham who disagree with the anti veteran/pow stance and respect them gratefully.

Let me tell you a little war story that still bothers me to tell it.  I was just 18 yrs old when I was sent to Korea in 1966.  I thought I was lucky that I didn’t get sent to Vietnam, although all my friends did and because of my extra infantry training specializing in guerrilla warfare, mostly reconnaissance and extended patrolling, I ended up north of the Im Jin River at the DMZ with Company C 1^st Bn 38^th Inf, 2d Division.  On a small scale the war was still being fought.

Because of increased infiltration and enemy patrolling into the DMZ and South of the South tape we were directed to dig defensive positions at the South Tape.  That is not easy with little GI shovels.  Another kid and I were digging and kept having to cut through roots of trees, and were tough to cut out.  As I was digging I came across what I thought was a root and I am whacking away and I found it wasn’t a root, it was a boot.  I told the kid with me, “hey look I found a boot”, upon closer inspection I found a decomposed foot in it.  We immediately stopped digging and called our duty officer.  What we did was dug into a mass grave.  What we found out later was they were all Americans, about 85 total that were probably buried by the Chinese.  We knew they were Americans because they all had their dog tags or enough of them did and the Chinese would bury our soldiers, sometimes.  Up until then they were MIAs, after 15 yrs or so they were finally able to come home.

The POW/MIA flag is not just a flag it is a commitment by our country to those who might never come home.  Not just a “thank you for your service”, but a god bless you and thank you for your suffering.  If we cannot show our love, respect and our gratitude then we, as a country, have lost our way. 

THANK YOU PETER WIGGIN FOR STANDING UP FOR THE LOST SOULS WHO WE CANNOT FORGET!!!

SHAME ON STRATHAM!!!