Salem Community Patriot | January 6, 2012 - 3


The Word Around Town... Letters to our Editor


Deputy Chief Responds to “Abuse of Power” Letter


As I read the Letter to the Editor last titled “Abuse of


Power?” (Dec. 23), the first though that ran through my head was the old saying “no good deed goes unpunished.” My second thought was disappointment as the Salem Community “Hatriot” has now taken the anonymous garbage from the Tumps Up/Down section and put it in the “Letters to Our Editor” section. Tis free weekly (I have trouble referring to it as a “newspaper”) has been allowed to turn into a divisive and unproductive outlet for people to submit stories/ postings anonymously with little or no factual basis. Often times these attacks are personal and completely fabricated.


and the Office of Waste Management). An important overarching goal of this action was to create a single agency that would operate in a more coordinated and consistent manner for the benefit of all of the new department’s many stakeholders. Early in its history, DES responded to


As most people are aware the Police Department was built in the mid-60s and its physical condition is an embarrassment to the community. As we have in the last few years, instead of complaining about it, several of our officers who are talented in areas of construction and have stepped up to repair problems and make cosmetic improvements to the building with little or no cost to the town aside from materials. Recently those officers offered to repair two the bathrooms which have been in deplorable condition including leaking toilets and urinals, rusty pipes and rusted out stalls and broken vanities, and the wonderful 40-plus year stench of a broken down commercial bathroom. As anyone who shops at Home Depot in Salem knows, the commercial loading area is in the front corner of the building precisely where the police vehicles were parked and subsequently loaded with materials for this repair project, not a personal errand. Te uniformed officer arrived at the store only to briefly assist with a technical issue with regards to lighting. Mr. S. K. is correct about one thing – someone


reported to the officers inside the store that a person was in the parking lot, had looked inside the police vehicles, and then was hunkered down taking pictures. After the uniformed officer was done he exited the store and approached Mr. S.K.’s vehicle. At no time did Mr. S.K. observe the officer approach his vehicle as the officer had to knock on his car window while observing him working on a computer in his center console. Te officer asked Mr. S.K. what he was doing and was met with a sarcastic and unnecessary reply. Te officer advised Mr. S.K. that they were emergency vehicles and could park there legally by NH RSA 265;69. Te officer was not “broiling on the verge of anger” and it is amazing how a brief interaction can be distorted to one’s own predilections. Mr. S.K. then goes on to rant about public employees and their attitudes, but I wonder what his reaction would be if he was volunteering to do something extra at work and then had to deal with someone taking pictures of him and then seeing it distorted and written in a local newspaper. At any time Mr. S.K. could have avoided a perceived negative interaction and simply and respectfully asked the officer what was going on. He may or may not have liked or agreed with the answer, but he would have been met with the same respect and courtesy. Public employees do not deserve to be treated with any less respect or courtesy than anyone else. Te first bathroom is almost complete and I would like to invite Mr. S.K. or anyone else to come in and see it, although I don’t anticipate seeing him as that wouldn’t fit his agenda. Te men and women of the Salem Police Department are hard working and truly care about Salem. If anyone has any questions or concerns I can be reached at (603) 890-2384 or spatten@salempd.com.


Shawn J. Patten, Deputy Chief of Police - Salem DES Marks 25 Years of


Environmental Protection


On January 2, 1987, a notable event occurred in the state of New Hampshire’s efforts to protect its environment. Culminating years of legislative deliberations, a new environmental agency was created: the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES). So this year, 2012, marks the 25th Anniversary of the creation of DES and its service to the people of our state. DES has played a vital role in protecting and restoring our precious natural resources and public health, which are so critical to ensuring the wonderful quality of life that we all enjoy here in the Granite State. While efforts to address pollution problems seen in


New Hampshire and across the country predated the creation of DES, by 1987 there was broad recognition in New Hampshire that our state’s ecological health and economic well being were integrally connected and mutually dependent. As a practical business matter, the four separate agencies responsible for environmental permitting and regulation were merged to create DES (Te Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission, the Water Resources Board, the Air Resources Agency,


environmental challenges unthinkable to many of us today. Many of New Hampshire’s wastewater plants were rudimentary in nature, sometimes resulting in raw sewage spilling into our rivers. Municipalities across the state disposed of their trash in “open burning dumps” with little regard to the toxic smoke. DES was responding to hazardous waste sites like the Gilson Road site in Nashua, a seven- acre sand and gravel pit where over 900,000 gallons of fluids containing a variety of toxic compounds were disposed of, contaminating the soils and groundwater. And we can’t forget the infamous Hunt Tire pile in Danville, NH. It was estimated that the site contained more than five million used tires, of which more than a million burned in a 1993 fire at this unpermitted facility. Tankfully, over the last 25 years, our state has made tremendous strides in cleaning up our environment. Trough responsible legislative and regulatory changes, we no longer witness things such as the Merrimack River changing colors based on which dye was used in the textile mills along the river. Te fact that our environment is cleaner and healthier than the one our parents would remember is our lasting legacy to the current generation and those that will follow. Tis legacy, however, requires vigilance and maintenance, even as science and technology continue to provide ever-better ways to monitor, protect and restore our air, water bodies and groundwater. Today, we strive to prevent contamination before it occurs, rather than simply responding to known contaminated sites. And, with public safety as a high priority, we train diligently to hone our emergency response capabilities. Tese preparedness efforts have proven invaluable as DES has assisted communities across New Hampshire in recovering from floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters in recent years. Importantly, many of the original goals set out by the enacting legislation are still at the heart of DES’s work today. We strive to provide excellence in customer service to all, whether a multi-national business looking to relocate to the state or a grandmother from Coos County who needs a copy of her approved septic system plan. We also work to provide real-time information to the public on the things that impact their daily lives, like the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the water testing results at a favorite public beach, or the status of a permit application. While we are busy at DES working to address the


environmental challenges of today and tomorrow, throughout 2012 we will be taking time to recognize and celebrate the wide-ranging successes of the past 25 years of environmental and public health protection and the dedicated, professional staff and our many partners in our communities, businesses and non-profits who have helped bring these successes about. We welcome and invite your participation as we celebrate our past successes and look ahead to the challenge of ensuring that New Hampshire will be an even better place to live, work and play 25 years from now.


Tomas Burack, DES Commissioner - Concord Occupy by the Media


Te Occupy Movement has received much favorable


coverage from the media government complex, as “patriots of the current generation.” According to the stories, Occupiers are disaffected unemployed middle class workers, students who care, and other wonderful citizens merely speaking their mind under the first Amendment. When compared to the “now defunct” TEA party, they are not racist, homophobic morons. Or are they? Based upon timing, this group was architected to create chaos and take the headlines so their hero, Barack Obama has cover from the bad economy, various scandals caused by stimulus money, and political machinations like denying the Canadian Pipeline and the thousands of jobs and economic/ energy freedom it creates. How did this come about? Beginning with 2008, the worldwide anarchist


movement Anonymous collective has become increasingly associated with collaborative, international hacktivism, undertaking protests and other actions, often with the goal of promoting “internet freedom and freedom of speech.” Te movement has since been hijacked by SEIU and George Soros to further their chaotic dreams and, in coordination with the Obama re-election campaign and David Plouffe, assist in the re- election of our current King, er … oops … President. Te


“movement” was organized in 2010 by


BEFORE


the SEIU, anarchist groups, and others contacted worldwide through the Anonymous social network. Te plan was to create greater and greater chaos in the world with the goal of nudging the world further away from the “evils of capitalism” and towards social justice (socialism). Te goal was to use the outlet of the major U.S./Global media complex to convince the masses that the bad economy was all a Wall Street plot instead of the reality of the Government policies that caused the original failures. Occupy and their radical brethren, with little regards for facts or the reality of events, nor the absurd overspending of western governments, and the crippling impact such spending has on the economy, whined and chanted the day away. Tat Obama’s Campaign is


involved is evidenced by the welcome most of the occupy sites had in cities across America. Boston is a perfect example where the Mayor’s Office actually authorized free electricity and wireless communications for the “protesters.” It was the same in LA, NYC, San Francisco, and many others – most of these cities with Democratic Mayors. Right – it was just coincidence! Taxpayers spend millions of critical dollars while these people sullied an area of town. Visiting the Boston site across from the Federal Reserve one saw a pit of dirty tents and people drenched in urine smells. Tere are many YouTube videos of the Occupiers being interviewed and showing incredible ignorance of World and American History, bigotry, capitalism, and stupidity – often with violent screaming when the “Occupiers’” abject ignorance was revealed by the interviewer. Wall Street Occupiers, when confronted with the facts about mass murder by Che Guevera, whose likeness was emblazoned on t-shirts and posters on the site, became verbally abusive and derided the questioner, a Russian immigrant US Citizen and exhorted him “to go back to Russia …” amongst other profanities and slights. At the end, they became more violent and “occupied” harbors and businesses denying their workers their wages and businesses necessary


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revenue. Te fact that many of these “protesters” actually ended up being paid to perform in this way shows the bankruptcy of their ideas and indeed the movement itself.


Te fact the media then portrays these “economic


victims” as “patriots” is an insult to what made us successful as a country. Teir actions and statements show their desire to move our economy away from free markets and into government apportion. It is scary to think many of these people can vote.


Bill Weimar - Salem 3 GREAT REASONS TO SET UP


A REVOCABLE TRUST! By: Nadine M. Catalfimo, Trust & Estate Attorney


Trusts are not just for wealthy individuals. They are useful to anyone for many reasons. This article will discuss 3 top reasons to set up a Revocable Trust


Nadine M. Catalfimo


(hereinafter "Trust").


Like a Will, you can change and amend your Trust during your life. You can change the beneficiaries and take assets out and put them back in. A Trust becomes irrevocable when you die. "Irrevocable" means you cannot change the terms of the Trust (unless you give the Trustee the power to do so).


#1 - PROBATE AVOIDANCE AND PRIVACY. A Trust is a legal document similar to a Will, but it is not subject to probate when you die. "Probate" is the court process of gathering assets, reporting to the court,


determining creditors and debts, paying bills and then distributing estate assets to beneficiaries. In NH, the entire probate process can take up to one year or longer. An Executor cannot administer an estate and control assets until authorized by the court. It can take a couple of months to get appointed, whereas a Trustee can take control of assets in a Trust immediately! Because a Trust is not filed with the court, it is a private document and only Trustees and beneficiaries will have access to it.


Assets owned by a Trust and assets that designate a Trust as a beneficiary avoid the probate process entirely. It is very common to title assets in the name of a Trust. You have complete control of your assets held in your Trust. When you die or become incapacitated, the Trustee steps in immediately - without any court approval and without any delays.


#2 - MINOR CHILDREN AND GUARDIANSHIP AVOIDANCE. A Trust is a great vehicle to plan for the future of minor children. You can specify the age(s) when a minor receives property, which can be over and above the age of majority. When a minor receives property under a Will, a guardianship proceeding is necessary to appoint a guardian until the minor reaches 18. Assets owned by a Trust avoid the necessity of a guardianship proceeding (of the property) for a minor because the Trustee holds and administers the property in Trust.


This type of planning is beneficial if you have minor children from a previous marriage and you don't want your ex to have control over assets left to your minor children. If you become incapacitated during your life, assets held in Trust will not require a guardianship proceeding for you individually.


Guardianship proceedings require annual court filings, accountings and the payment of annual fees. There are also delays with the court process. Assets in Trust avoid guardianship proceedings entirely.


#3 - FEDERAL AND STATE ESTATE TAX PLANNING. A Trust is also used for federal and state estate tax planning. It is possible to defer the federal estate tax of a married couple until the death of the surviving spouse, and in some states, the state estate tax as well. There are estate tax planning techniques that can be incorporated into a Trust to utilize the federal exclusion amount in a "bypass" a/k/a "family" trust to shelter those assets passing to beneficiaries, with capital gain and income tax benefits.


Sometimes the transfer of assets from one spouse to another spouse will lower or entirely eliminate each spouse's federal and state estate tax liability. If you own real estate in another state, your estate may be subject to state estate tax upon your death in that state, regardless of your domicile state.


In some situations, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved, sheltered and passed to beneficiaries (instead of Uncle Sam) upon your death - by implementing estate planning techniques and setting up a Trust now.


If you would like to learn more about estate tax planning and establishing a Revocable Trust, and whether it is right for your situation, please contact Nadine Catalfimo, Trust and Estate Attorney, at (603) 952-4491, 300 Brickstone Square, Suite 201, Andover, MA, or


ncatalfimo@MA-NHEStateLaw.com


Nadine is a trust and estate lawyer who practices in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She co-wrote two NH Bar Journal Articles: "Postnuptial Agreements in NH, To Be or Not to Be," published in 2008, and more recently "New Laws on In Terrorem (No Contest) Clauses in Wills and Trusts in NH." She also assisted with updating Volumes 10 and 11 of the NH Practice: Probate and Administration of Estates, Trusts & Guardianships, 4th Edition (a lawyer's guide to probate law in New Hampshire).


Scoop!


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