ALERTS: All Town Departments will be CLOSED, Tuesday, December 24th and Wednesday, December 25th. The Town Hall will be CLOSING at 12PM on Monday, December 23rd.
A big thank you to the Seabrook Lions Club, who once again sponsored the annual Tree Lighting, a wonderful community event enjoyed by all. Thanks to the Trinity United Church for the use of the Parish Hall, to Chief Edwards and the Seabrook Fire Department, and to Chief Gallagher, who was out with Deputy Walker on traffic detail. A very big thank you to our man Stan for making sure the lights went on when we flicked that switch, and to the Seabrook DPW for all of their help. Bill Niland of the Chop Shop Pub ran the “train” over to transport people to the Parish Hall, and I hitched a ride, and it was great. Thank you Bill!
I am today posting the new Seabrook CIP Plan, as well as a newly developed five year analysis of Seabrook Capital Spending that I have developed. The analysis has a long series of support tabs that show yearly spending by category. The capital spending program program in Seabrook was the sole reason for the increase in Town side spending from 2016 to 2017, as the operating budgets have been essentially level funded, absent contractually mandated increases. These items have been presented to all of our policy making Boards.
The Seabrook Board of Selectmen awarded Florence Nemphos the Boston Post Cane at a recent meeting. At 100 she is still a crack Bingo player, and Florence was delighted to receive the Cane and recognition from the Board of Selectmen. Our thanks to former Selectman Edward Hess, who read a recognition from Senator Hassan at the event. Congratulations Florence!
The Seabrook Fire Department held the annual Touch a Truck event at the Fire Station last week, and it was a great success. It was a fun family event that had lots of kids attending and looking over, and touching, some of the new equipment. It featured the new Ladder/Platform Truck, which is an amazing piece of equipment. Our thanks to Papa Gino’s for the generous donation of pizza for this event. Our thanks to the Board of Selectmen, who were all on hand to help with the event. Thanks to Chief Edwards, and Deputy Perkins, for all of their work!
On September 21, 2017 the Seabrook Police Department held a wide ranging program dealing with opioid misuse, with speakers from across the spectrum of approaches to this scourge impacting Seabrook, New Hampshire, and our nation. I am very appreciative of the efforts of Police Lieutenant Kevin Gelineau, who put the program together. Thanks to Police Chief Michael Gallagher, Fire Chief William Edwards, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, the Director of the N.H. Police Forensic Laboratory Tim Pifer, Lt. Joseph Ebert of the N.H. State Police, Special Agent Jon Delena of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Doctor Cheryl Wilkie of the Farnum Center, Marty Boldin from the Office of Governor Chris Sununu, Kim Haney of Granite Pathways, Elizabeth Miller of Safe Harbor Recovery, and Olivia Dupell of the Seacoast Public Health Network. We had a special screening of the powerful film “Just the One Time” and we are so grateful that Jim and Jeanne Moser, who made the film about the loss of their son Adam were on hand to discuss the film, and the important lessons we can all take from their experience. (That film is below) Our sincere thanks to Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety in New Hampshire Robert Quinn, who gave so much of his time to make this night a success. The remarks by Senator Hassan are also below, and I will place additional video from the event in the days to come.
As we attack the misuse of opioids it is vital to remember that it is a complex societal issue, and that different approaches need to be made simultaneously to combat the problem. There are no easy solutions, and there is not a “one size fits all approach” that will bring victory.
Select Chair Theresa KyleLt. Kevin GelineauMarty Boldin
The Seabrook Fire Department’s new Fire Alarm Operators have begun full time duties this week. They are Taryna Cody of Seabrook, Kassandra Lee of Amesbury, James Gettman of Seabrook, and Zach Annis of Exeter.
These four new employees are functioning in our Dispatch Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, answering calls for from the public for the many services provided by the Seabrook Fire Department. This is the first time in our Department’s history that we’ve been able to offer complete 24 hour per day dispatch coverage, guaranteeing that someone will be available to answer all incoming calls from the public, and helping Seabrook Fire and EMS to ensure the quickest possible responses to those calls.
We would like to thank the Town Manager, William Manzi for his hard work in this endeavor. We would especially like to thank the Seabrook Board of Selectmen, Theresa Kyle, Ella Brown, and Aboul Khan for their support and their unanimous vote to authorize the hiring of these vital positions.
The Board authorized these four positions from the ambulance revolving fund, enabling Seabrook to fill a critical, and unmet public safety need while affording Seabrook taxpayers some relief. The ambulance revolving fund is financed through revenues raised by our ambulance service.
“We really appreciate the Board taking the time to hear our department’s needs and for working to close the gap in those needs. It’s great we are able to do this and not burden the tax payers with it.” Chief Bill Edwards
The Fire Department Radio Alarm Operators begin work.
Please join us on Thursday September 21, 2017 at the Seabrook Community Center, 311 Lafayette Road in Seabrook, for a night of discussion on how to turn the tide on Opioid misuse. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will feature a multitude of speakers, including Senator Maggie Hassan, Special Agent John Delena of the DEA, and Marty Boldin from the office of Governor Chris Sununu. The Seabrook Police Department, with the strong support of the Board of Selectmen, has organized this event, and Police Chief Gallagher and Lt. Gelineau will discuss the future of policing centered on addiction in Seabrook. We hope to have a productive, and informative, session. The program will end at 8:00 p.m. and will feature a short Q&A session at 7:50. We look forward to seeing you.
Seabrook Library will present a program by John Cafasso on Storm Chasing! on Thursday, July 13, at 6:30 p.m.
Cafasso is a local meteorology buff who has always had an interest in science. When he retired from Pratt & Whitney in 2013, he started traveling to chase storms, and has driven more than 13,000 miles in three years from Texas to South Dakota, from Wyoming to Florida. He will discuss how severe storms form, why people chase them and how it is done.
This program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
The Board of Selectmen joined Families First at the ribbon cutting for the new facility at the offices of the Community Action Council in Seabrook. A great synergy, with vital medical services now available for Seabrook residents in Seabrook. Thank you to Families First, and Southern New Hampshire Services, for a terrific addition to Seabrook.
Wonderful to welcome into Seabrook the Portsmouth Hospital Emergency Room facility, a 10,000 square foot state of the art medical facility that will bring world class medical care to Seabrook, and our region. The ribbon was cut with the help of Senator Maggie Hassan. Thanks to Dean Carucci and the great team at Portsmouth Hospital, Waterstone Development, the Seabrook Planning Board, and the Board of Selectmen, who were strong supporters of this project.
