Norwich Selectboard Condemns Hate Speech

Related posts are here and here.


The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... . 

Selectboard Asked To Speak Out Against Latest Incident Of Hate Speech

Anti‐semetic graffiti is shocking to see, more so when it appears in your own small town, as it has in Norwich on occasion over the last two years.  The latest instance occurred last week.  Kathy Cadow Parsonnet has asked the Selectboard to speak out against such hate speech.  It is Item 8b on the Selectboard's agenda for Wednesday, April 10.  Let's hope the Selectboard agrees with the request.  Ms. Parsonnet's letter to the Board is below.

To the Norwich Selectboard,

I am sure you are well aware of the anti‐semetic graffiti that has popped up in Norwich over the past two years, as are most people in Norwich and the greater Upper Valley.

I understand from news articles and word of mouth that the Norwich Police have been attending to this issue and are trying their best to identify the perpetrator(s) of these hate crimes. I also hear that many Norwich residents are afraid to speak out about it because they are afraid that the suspected perpetrator (in their minds) may burn their homes or do some other vengeful act.

Such is the state of our safe Norwich community.

While I understand that it is the Police's job to investigate and enforce the laws against hate crimes, I believe that it is the Community's responsibility to speak up ‐ very loudly ‐ about its zero tolerance for these types of crimes. The lack of doing so sends an even louder message that a few swastikas and incorrigible words about a race or religion is not really much of a big deal.

So, I will draw upon my experiences of September 2000, when Norwich faced similar assaults. I am enclosing a few scans of the reports by the Valley News back then, to refresh your memory. The outpouring of concern by all segments of the population in the Upper Valley was evident; each of the schools took the assaults seriously, an interfaith coalition was formed, and a community vigil for respect and understanding was held to send a strong message that those incidents would not be accepted in this community. Later that year, the Anti‐Defamation League of New England awarded and honored The Upper Valley Community for its strong stand and response. I am enclosing the write‐up they included in their 2000 Annual Report.

I am also enclosing the photo of the graffiti on the I‐91 bridge over Rt 132 last evening, for you to contemplate. This is not simply an eyesore.

I encourage the Select Board to consider taking a very public stance about this issue. It will carry much more weight if made before the public's outcry, which I aim to inspire.

Weekly Roundup - Norwich News, for week ending April 6, 2013

Another Instance Of Anti-Semitic Graffiti In Norwich

Graffiti Found in Norwich
Valley News Staff Report
March 31, 2013
Several instances of anti-Semitic and racially charged graffiti showed up along two of the town’s main roads between Friday night and yesterday morning, police said.
Police were alerted yesterday morning to the graffiti, which appeared in two instances on the roadway about half a mile on either side of the intersection of Route 5 and Route 132, and one instance on the I-beam of theInterstate 91 bridge over Route 132, Patrolman Michael Scruggs said. The graffiti on the I-beam included obscenities and an anti-Semitic slur next to a swastika and knife in orange spray paint.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/5388417-95/graffiti-found-in-norwich

TCE And Richmond Middle School

TCE and its presence at the Richmond Middle School remained in the news this week as a informational open house was held on Tuesday at the school. Seventh and eighth graders from Norwich, VT attend the school in Hanover, NH that is across the street from CREEL.
Hanover Goes to School on TCE; Waiting On Fruther Tests
By Sarah Brubeck, Valley News Staff Writer
April 3, 2013
After learning on Friday that trichloroethylene was present in a Dartmouth College owned house, officials were relieved to find out this week that two other vacant homes showed no sign of the chemical compound that can cause cancer.
But the good news was tempered by mixed feelings among neighbors of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, where TCE was discovered at the property boundary earlier this year. Teachers and parents at an open house at Richmond Middle School last night still expressed concern, while noting they don’t want to jump to conclusions until more tests have been conducted. Five residents at Dartmouth-owned housing south of CRREL have asked to be relocated after initial test results revealed an air-borne TCE presence in one home, as well as benzene and carbon tetrachloride.
The discovery of levels have caused officials to expand their testing to adjacent properties, including Richmond Middle School and five homes owned by Dartmouth College in the Fletcher-Cedar neighborhood.
Read the rest of the story.
LINK:
http://www.vnews.com/news/schools/5433732-95/hanover-goes-to-school-on-tce-waiting-on-fruther-tests

Thompson of Norwich Named VP At Trumbull-Nelson Construction 

Theodore G. “Todd” Thompson , of Norwich, has been named vice president of Trumbull-Nelson Construction Co. of Hanover and Montpelier.

Thompson joined Trumbull-Nelson as assistant project manager in 2000 and was promoted to the position of project manager in 2002, overseeing a wide variety of institutional, commercial and residential building and renovations, including work at the ... .

Read the rest of the story. 

LINK: 

http://www.vnews.com/news/business/5429722-95/people-in-business

A subscription may be required for access to the Valley News stories.

The Norwich Observer. Aggregating news and information about Norwich, Vermont with occasional commentary ... .