The
Lebanon
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Harrison Thorp
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Martha T.
Soto-Galicia
Editor
Harrison Thorp
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The editorials expressed on this page are the opinions of The Lebanon Voice. Letters to the editor containing libelous, slanderous or malicious statements will not be published. All letters must be signed, with an address and phone number you can be reached at for verification. Guest columns will be accepted. The Lebanon Voice reserves the right to not print letters to the editor and guest colunmns if they are deemed inappropriate. Any misstatement of fact that appears in The Lebanon Voice will be corrected as soon as possible. All corrections will appear in this space.
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To the Editor:
The Selectman of Lebanon were presented on March 4 with a Resolution protesting Governor LePage's proposed budget cuts. The Governor's proposal includes elimination of $283 Million in municipal revenue sharing.
This amounts to $1,000,000 cuts in the next two years to Lebanon alone. The proposed cuts include major cuts in reimbursements to cities and towns for General Assistance and Homestead exemptions, Eliminates the "circuit breaker" program for anyone under 65, cuts in excise taxes for cities and town and reduces corporate taxes.
The Resolution presented to our Selectman is a nonpartisan, nonbinding request to our Legislature and Governor to understand that our town cannot afford these cuts. It will mean huge cuts to town services, public school funding or increases in real estate taxes. The resolution asks that the Legislature to support less harmful and more fair methods to bridge Maine's budgetary gap.
Please email or call our Selectmen and Selectwoman and ask that they support this resolution. Every Signed Resolution is Published in the Legislative Daily Calendar.
The email address is : Lebselectman@metrocast.net
or call the Town Hall at 207 457 6082.
Thank you,
Ellen Harris-Howard
Lebanon
Why has Rescue
probe dragged on?
To the editor:
Is it just me, or should all of us here in Lebanon, be outraged at the selectman’s response to the formal grievance filed against a Town department, as reported in the The Lebanon Voice?
The BIG question: why has it taken over five months for an investigation that is still not done? Perhaps it was never going to be completed, but is only "nearly complete" now, because it has become public.
Regardless of the outcome, the grievance was essentially a safety issue as well as a misuse of department property issue. I would think a safety issue should be addresses promptly!
Either the department and individuals involved should have their “names” cleared, or the grievances should be declared valid and appropriate action taken to correct, but either way, this should be done in a timely manner.
Perhaps it is the chairman’s vast experience that is causing this delay, or all the selectman meetings he attends, or perhaps it is his lack of attention.
While I agree that Selectwoman Gerrish should not be involved, she should at least push for closure, not to mention that I would think Selectman Cole would want the issue closed, unless…….
So, why do we put up with this?? This town deserves ethical, open, honest and transparent representation in the selectman’s office, and people willing to put forth the time and effort to do the people’s business. This only changes one way folks, and that’s at the ballot box. Cast your votes wisely.
Richard "Chip" Harlow
Lebanon
Flawed process taints
Rescue probe finding
posted noon, Sunday, April 7
When a Milton Police Officer was involved in a crash with a civilian vehicle in January, New Hampshire State Police were immediately notified so that they could begin an investigation into who was at fault.
It’s standard procedure. How can an organization investigate itself?
It has a vested interest in its preservation, in the status quo.
Why? Because any wrongdoing reflects poorly on the whole.
Obviously, dear readers, you realize we’re not talking about the Milton Police Department here. They did it right.
We’re talking about the Lebanon selectmen’s office.
They did it wrong.
They had one selectmen investigate another selectman with the help of the town attorney who freely acknowledges he works for – you guessed it – the selectmen.
Whether Rescue Chief Samantha Cole or Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole did anything wrong is not the point here. It was how it was determined.
Selectmen Chairman Bob Frizzell, with years and years in the construction industry, interviewed five former Rescue Department volunteers who complained of shoddy leadership and safety issues with regard to an ambulance service and surmised the claims of all five were groundless.
Mr. Frizzell was able to make his summary
judgment with no input from an ambulance regulatory body which would have been readily available to assist in determining due cause.
So what was the process of the probe?
As Mr. Frizzell says in his 116-word ruling on “the probe,” he conducted the interviews with all complainants and then gathered and reviewed “certain” information.
Since he admitted he never took advantage of opinions from medical experts neutral to the case, what information is there left to gather except from the Coles.
Beyond that, Mr. Frizzell rendered his decision without consulting Selectwoman Karen Gerrish, who had expected to be part of the summary finding.
Almost six months after the probe began - and a week after The Lebanon Voice broke the story – we’re told the grievances were groundless.
According to Mr. Frizzell, we can now rest assured that the Rescue Department is in capable hands. That’s a good thing if you ever need an ambulance.
However, it’s not the judgment that disturbs us as much as it is the process by which that judgment was made. - HT
Whether Rescue Chief Samantha Cole or Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole did anything wrong is not the point here. It was how it was determined.
