Salem Community Patriot | May 4, 2012 - 3


The Word Around Town... Letters to our Editor


Weak Gun Laws Lead to Bloodshed As gun ownership laws fall like autumn leaves across America, thanks to


the January 2011 ascension of thousands of Tea Party Republicans into the legislatures of our conservative states, New Hampshire residents are faced with exactly what was predicted after the November 2010 elections. We have become a much bloodier and more violent state, seemingly overnight, due to the relaxation/elimination of most of the firearm laws that governed us throughout the John Lynch terms. Tanks to William O’Brien, the GOP House Majority leader who despite his and his compatriots’ abysmal record of crumbling the very fabric of the Granite State is actually running for reelection, we are officially becoming Mississippi North. Check out these alarming New Hampshire state numbers over the past several years: 2009 - 15 total firearm murders. 2010 - 13 total firearm murders. Now we come to January 2011 and the Tea Party takeover in Concord. 2011 - 24 total firearm murders. 2012 - Up to April 30 we have already recorded 12 gun-induced tragedies, including the senseless death of Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney on April 12. And contrast all this with the entire last decade (2000-2009) when our state averaged an annual gun-related murder rate in the low teens. Tis is the type of article that writes itself, mainly because the gist of it if not the actual numbers was already easily foreseeable by anyone with a scintilla of sense. Te House and Senate conservative majorities that were voted in back in 2010 have gutted the common-sense policies that had been in place throughout Lynch’s first three terms and had made our state the envy of the rest of America with its low taxes, minuscule murder rate (regularly acclaimed as the safest state to raise a family), graduation rankings, etc. Despite the governor’s vetoing of as many House/Senate approved bills as he could when not overridden by O’Brien and gang, the Granite State has gone in just over one year from the safest state per capita to one of the most dangerous, as we now “boast” among the laxest gun laws in the United States. Since the Republican rulership began, the State House now allows concealed firearms in its gallery and chamber. Gun owners no longer have to register their guns. And now, unless you’re carrying a concealed loaded weapon outside of your domicile or place of business, you aren’t required to carry a valid firearm license. Tere are no background checks on citizens who purchase guns at gun shows (many of the sellers are unlicensed as well). Tis is the type of permissiveness that any rational person would already know would be a recipe for disaster if enacted, similar to realizing that, say, texting while driving would lead to more car accidents. But the Republican legislature pushed these changes through last year anyway, and we’re all watching the unhappy and predictable results. Of course the National Rifle Association will ignore and discount this turn of events, as they always do, with their silly slogans (“guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” etc.). Happily for them, firearm sales and revenues have skyrocketed across the state (understandably, it has to be admitted, what with our swift erosion to an especially violent episode of “Te Rifleman”). And somewhere the late Charlton Heston may even be smiling. But this should be a bitter pill to swallow for the rest of us, as we watch our once-envied state go down the tubes on the personal safety issue, one that we could formerly pride ourselves on.


New Hampshire’s voters, Democrats,


Republicans and Independents alike, can halt our GOP-led dissolution on November 6. Millions of words will continue to be written about the ongoing right-wing wars on women, minorities, students, the elderly, et al on both the national and New Hampshire levels. But all these important battles would become almost meaningless if we lose the right to live and raise our children in a stable, secure environment that is the most important sign of a civilized society. We can vote to make the Tea Party regression just a four-year footnote in America’s history, and hope that other states across our nation join with us. Just the fact that police unions, made up of the brave professionals charged with upholding the peace, are unanimously against the NRA-led loosening of gun laws should be enough reason for the rest of us to be as well.


William F. Klessens, Salem


Salem Family Resources Tanks Volunteers


Salem Family Resources would like to thank those in our community who helped make our 2012 Tot to Teen Fashion Show and Tea fundraiser successful. Proceeds from the event help strengthen families in the greater Salem area through our programming such as Parenting & Play Groups, parent workshops, Ready-Set-Go school readiness program, referral services, and more. Congratulations to our 2012 Children’s Champion, Don Bohnwagner, Sr. Our sincere gratitude goes to the following businesses, organizations and individuals: For making our event fun: Searles Castle


Windham, Beth Roth, Lexie Kearley, Kohl’s Salem, Annie’s/Baldoria, BloomingDeals Consignment Shop, Sew Dainty Dresses, LLC, Lynn Bolduc and Friends, Kim’s Cookies for Cancer, the Chin Family, the Greater Salem Artists Association. For additional sponsorships, auction and drawing items: Partners in


Family Wellness, PLLC, Te Kiwanis Club of Salem, Pentucket Bank Haverhill, Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Te Learning Path, Pediatric Dentistry of Salem/Dr. James Dickerson, RE MAX/Insight, Salem Farmers Market, Enterprise Bank, Speech Terapy Solutions, Eco Salon, Salon Grazie, Te Learning Cooperative of Salem Family Resources families, Noggin Works, Sara Currao/Rouge Couture, Shabby Chic, Te Common Man, Te Custard Shop, Body Powr Personal Training by Pam Sarantis, Trish DelVecchio/Tupperware, Te Wine Steward, Victorian Park, Wasabi Japanese Restaurant, Weathervane Restaurant, Chief Wok, European School of Dance, Ford Flowers, Freshwater Farms, Delahunty Nurseries.


New Location Chosen for Birches Academy


Birches Academy is excited to present our school location! Birches Academy of Academics & Art, 419 South Broadway, 2nd Floor, in Salem.


After touring many sites, we


chose this site for its bright spaces, open play area, convenient location and future expansion possibilities. We are fortunate to have found a landlord that understands and supports our mission and we are looking forward to creating wonderful relationships with our neighbors to enhance our curriculum. We also look forward to a long-term relationship that will allow stability for our families for years to come. This location is dependent on the Salem Planning Board approval and finalization of the lease terms.


Future of School Enrollment to be Studied


by S. Aaron Shamshoyan School enrollment projections will soon go out to bid with school board members looking for information regarding the future of the district. Superintendent Michael Delahanty said the board was looking to pursue a formal format of identifying projections over the next few years. “We’re looking at the traditional information,” he said noting birth rates, construction, potential for growth, employment trends and housing occupancy would be reviewed among other things.


Board member Bernard Campbell suggested the projections include the possibility of Rockingham Park receiving a license for expanded gaming, and also the option of the land being converted to other uses. “Whatever we renovate or build


we tie to expected enrollments,” Campbell said. He added family size and student housing ability within the community should be examined. Campbell also suggested a correlation between housing occupancies and the economy be studied. “If the economy is good, housing vacancies can be two or three percent,” he said. Member Peter Morgan said housing potentials for students were high. “For three to five years we had nearly two thousand elementary students,” he said addend since such enrollments housing had been added. The board voted unanimously to issue a request for proposal, with a contract expected to be awarded by June and the report expected between August and September.


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