Ashuelot River Anti-Asphalt Committee Meeting

There will be a meeting of all members tonight @ 7:00pm at the Ryan's residence; 129 Westport Village Road in
Swanzey, just past the village church. Anyone interested in joining the group and/or donating to the legal fund is invited to come.

Mitchell's Attorney Sends Out Threatening Letters

We have received several reports that Massachusetts Attorney Kevin Parsons has sent out letters to a number of Winchester and Swanzey residents who have filed complaints with the Town of Winchester and the Department of Environmental Services, informing them that they have been singled out and threatened with arrest if they set foot on Mitchell's property. The letters were forwarded to both the Winchester and Swanzey Police Departments, making it look as though these people had done something wrong, had committed some illegal act or are a threat to Mr. Mitchell. None which is true. Their only offense was to take pictures and file complaints of illegal activity and to gather evidence of violations in a peaceful manner.  There was no evidence provided and residents also stated they had not set foot on his property at all while taking pictures as the Town's Code Enforcement Officer and State Compliance Board had requested when filing complaint to them.

Our guess Mitchell got upset at all of this exposure and this is his way of showing what a good neighbor he's claims to be. It's a real shame that no one informed him that actions speak louder than words.

What are you trying to hide Mr. Mitchell?

It's a Wonderful Day in Our Neighborhood .. A Wonderful Day ..

This sent in from several citizens in the plant's vicinity


NOT  .. when you wake up to the never ending sounds of truck and equipment backup beepers, tail gates slamming, the incessant pounding of the rock crusher, blasting and the smell of smoke, fuel oil fumes and something else that burns your eyes and throat and makes your nose water constantly wafting over your property and forcing you to go inside and shut your windows.


WE, the people who you have subjected these conditions upon wish to thank Massachusetts resident Robert Mitchell, his attorneys Silas Little and Kevin Parsons and of course the Winchester Planning Board and Winchester Selectman and last but not least, the ever lovable Leroy Austin for making all of this joy possible.

Thank you so much for ruining our livelihoods, our property values and the quality of our lives and forcing us to spend our hard earned money and our tax dollars taking you all to court for your actions in this matter. Other towns in our state have said "no" to these kinds of businesses in a populated area. A Superior Court  judge has ruled this is manufacturing and Winchester's own regulations confirm it's not allowed in Agricultural or Protected Aquifer Zones and most important of all, the EPA and DES acknowledge these kind of plants release toxins into the environment and yet you ignored all of this and bent over backwards to ensure approval for this this outsider and his smelly, polluting plant  .. SHAME ON YOU ALL !

Planning Board Approves Mitchell

At the 09/19/11 meeting, despite numerous complaints from citizens of both Winchester and Swanzey, filed with the Town's Code Enforcement Officer and the State DES in regards to numerous violations committed by Mitchell, including operating and selling asphalt commercially before he even had a compliance hearing and a passionate plea from State Representative Jane Johnson of Swanzey and another letter from State Representative Daniel Carr of Winchester, the Board, minus regular members Kim Gordon ( recused at the request of Mitchell's attorney), Jack Marsh ( absent ) and Princess Blodgett ( absent ) voted 5-0 to approve Mitchell's application even though they knew he had not complied with all of the conditions they set for him in January of this year. Dean Beaman, chair of the board, who had expressed great joy at the decision of the ZBA hearing to grant Mitchell a special exception and again at the January Planning Board meeting where he stood and applauded the Board's decision to grant Mitchell a Conditional Approval, participated in the hearings and voted, despite being asked to recuse himself for his obvious prejudice; but refused to do so saying," I will abstain from voting".
Members of the public had also asked the Board to hold off on making a decision and continue the hearings until the Town's Code Enforcement Officer was present to answer questions regarding his incomplete report given to the board on August 11th in which he stated he could not inspect certain conditions, as the plant was not running when he went there. Dean Beaman and Margaret Sharra who had accompanied Leroy Austin to the site, knew this; yet refused to relay this information to other board members and despite the board also requesting Leroy to be there at their previous meeting, didn't feel it necessary to have him present to answer questions or explain his incomplete report to the public.

The Board, on their own, without any formal request by Mitchell waived certain conditions and the time lines they had previously set and gave Mitchell until December to comply and then voted to approve his application .

Does anyone now wonder why this Board constantly gets sued? Can someone explain the rush to approve despite his not complying with all of the conditions they set for him? Was the Board rushing because the Town had committed an illegal act using asphalt from the plant to pave roads before he had his Compliance hearing and knew they had broken the law? 

Once again, the more than questionable decision by this board will lead to another expensive lawsuit and court case costing thousands, which could all have been avoided by simply waiting until Mitchell had complied with all of the conditions they had previously set for him in the time they had allotted him to do so.

Planning Board Agenda 9-19-11

	Town of Winchester Planning Board Notice of Meeting 9-19-11 The Winchester Planning Board will be meeting on 9-19-11 at 7pm on the Main Floor of the Town Hall for the following agenda: 1. The board will review an application for a boundaryline adjustment for Cheryl and Dana Laraba and if accepted as complete will move into a public hearing. 2. The board will hold a compliance hearing for Robert Mitchell, Mitchell Sand & Gravel, on the conditions set by the board for the asphalt plant. 3. The board will review the minutes of 8-15-11 for approval. 4. The board will discuss town counsels response to the board’s questions on substandard roads. 5. The board will discuss town counsels review of the Zoning Ordinance. 6. Any other business. 7. The Chairman’s call for adjournment.

Mitchell in Violation

For those of you who have not noticed, the asphalt plant on the site of the old P&H gravel pit has been making asphalt and selling it commercially since August 26th in violation of town ordinances and regulations and with no final approval from the Planning Board, or the State of New Hampshire.  Numerous complaints have flooded the Winchester Code Enforcements Office and the BOS with no results. Leroy Austin refuses to act and issue a cease and desist even though he knows Mitchell has not had a stack test done by the DES and won't for another 2-3 weeks if they schedule it by then or a compliance hearing by the Planning Board and his selling of asphalt is illegal. I guess we pay him to sit on his ass and do nothing. His failure to act is a disgrace and a slap in the face to all of the taxpayers who are now deeply affected by smoke, fuel oil fumes and hazardous emissions wafting over the area as far north as Ryme's Fuel and south beyond the Speedway. Many  residents of Winchester and Swanzey  and especially residents of Westport Village weren't able to enjoy their yards this past holiday weekend as fumes and smoke from the plant hung low in the air over the area all weekend. Throw in the noise from the constant beeping from trucks and equipment backing up, tailgates slamming and the rock crusher running constantly all day long it has become a real nuisance. It should not be like this, there are regulations that can be enforced; but when you have people who ignore their constituents and turn their heads and make backroom deals, you have serious problems.  We have been told through the rumor mill that the Town has entered into a contract with Mitchell to purchase asphalt for the sewer and water plant renovations and another rumor circulating is that the recently paved class 6 road in town running to property acquired by the Conservation Commission was done with asphalt made at this plant. Seems an inside deal has been reached between the town and Mitchell before he even has his hearing. For those of you who say who cares, we can think of better ways to spend your tax dollars instead of lining Barton Mayer's pockets when the lawsuits start getting filed. There are laws against subjecting neighbors to constant noise, dust and smoke and fumes from this plant, it's too bad that the Town would rather spend money defending their non-actions than honoring the oaths they took to protect the Town and it's citizens from harm.

For those of you who don't care one way or the other, perhaps the next polluter will be in your back yards ruining your property, health and lifestyle, then we'll see how much you care.

Building is worth saving

If a little child playfully and in his ignorance of its worth, threw a family treasure into the toilet and flushed it down the sewer, it could be understood.
His immaturity and ignorance of the value could be forgiven.

Educated adults should know better than to destroy a treasure or to just look away when someone else is attempting to destroy one.
We all know that “money talks,” as the saying goes, and some people, if offered enough money, would sell their grandmother.

Fortunately, there are many educated adults who truly care about saving the history of this great country. The seven doctors who lived at 71 Main St. in Winchester could surely have written volumes regarding their joyful and sad encounters with early residents and town fathers.

This historical home is eligible to be accepted as a state historical site. Let’s get together, we interested citizens of Winchester and surrounding towns and get this building made an official historical site and eligible for state and federal grants to help pay to have it restored.
True, our country is in a recession right now, but nothing is impossible. We should make the effort. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My daughter, Julia put in many hours of work to get the Thayer Library in Ashuelot approved as a historical building and was able to secure a grant in order to get the building painted and looking beautiful again.

Let’s get together as responsible citizens and lovers of our heritage and find ways to make this happen.

FLORENCE FERRARIE
P.O. Box 111
Ashuelot