Cheshire Sheriffs Employee Alleges Sexual Harassment

Not long after former Cheshire County Attorney Peter Heed was arrested for DWI, more shocking allegations have been made against other county officers – this time the Sheriff’s department, and by one of their own. A dispatcher in the department alleges constant sexual harassment by department employees and also that then-Sheriff Dick Foote attempted to intimidate her. The Sentinel has the story:

A dispatcher for the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office filed a civil lawsuit against the department alleging discrimination and sexual harassment.
The dispatcher, Abbie Fox, claims that her employee rights were violated because some department employees sexually harassed her for a lengthy period of time.
Fox also claims that the department supervisor neglected to handle her complaints properly, which ultimately created a hostile work environment for her, according to the six-page suit filed Jan. 9 in federal court in Concord. (more…)

Trimmed: Veterans Toss Medals to NATO Leaders

olsen_nato_medalAs a final segment for the episode of Shire TV that aired yesterday, I included footage I had captured outside of the NATO Summit last summer. There, US military veterans made history when 45 decorated soldiers tossed their medals in the direction of the barricaded McCormick Place, where the world’s military elite were meeting. Perhaps the most well known among the group returning their awards was former marine Scott Olsen, who was injured by a shot to the head from a crowd control device fired by police while breaking up an Occupy Oakland demonstration.

From the Huffington Post:

“I’d like to direct my message to the NATO representatives here in Chicago today,” said Suraia Sahar of Afghans for Peace, according to MSNBC. “For what you’ve done to my home country, I’m enraged; for what you’ve done to my people, I’m disgusted; for what you’ve done to these veterans, I’m heartbroken. I sympathize with their disappointment and being failed by the system and having their lives, their morals, and humanity toiled with.”

What appears in the episode is not the statement of each participating veteran, which spans about twenty-four minutes. Previously released on Free Concord was a longer version of the demonstration from which this segment derives, running fourty-four minutes. To follow up the content featured in the episode, I trimmed into its own video only the speeches of soldiers immediately before throwing their medals away. Below is the trimmed video, further down is text extracted from some of the more gripping and informative statements.

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Gun Freedom Rally – Concord, NH

On Saturday January 19, people gathered at the 50 different State Houses in support of the right to bear arms in a group of events called “Guns Across America.” The organizers described the rally as “a PEACEFUL demonstration.” And wrote “We encourage everyone to bring pro gun and pro 2nd amendment signs. Open carry is permitted and encouraged. Any rifles MUST be unloaded with bolt open. Please note if you do carry, you do so of your own discretion. In addition, please act responsibly. The liberal media has made those against more gun legislation out to be mentally unstable or radicals. Actions speak louder than words, we are here not only to contest such legislation, but to contest such claims made against us. SPREAD THE WORD and make YOUR voice count!” (more…)

Holding Bureaucrats Accountable

In New Hampshire government officials are supposed to be accountable to “the people” at all times. Anyone who pays attention knows that is not the case. This lack of accountability was seen, or rather heard again on TalkBack this morning.Garret Ean and James Cleaveland both called into the weekly radio show to ask bureaucrat Andy Bohannon questions about his actions on “National Chalk the Police Day” in which he refused to identify himself and assaulted a cameraman.Today on TalkBack, Andy stated that he had “learned from the incident” and there was a mention of people harassing public officials. Garret called to clear up the story to inform Cynthia that Andy had approached him, not the otherway around. Andy refused to apologize to Garret for hitting his camera. When Garret called back in a second time, he was rudely cut-off and host Cynthia Georgina said that such calls will not be accepted.
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Former AG Peter Heed arrested for DWI outside Keene

The former Cheshire county attorney and even more former NH Attorney General was arrested last evening for driving while intoxicated. State police received a report of an erratic driver on Rt. 9 headed toward Keene before his vehicle was intercepted and he was arrested. Heed resigned from the highest lawyer’s office in the state following a sexual harassment allegation in 2004, and has been with the Cheshire county government’s legal team since 2006. He suddenly resigned in November 0f 2012, weeks following his reelection to the post in order to join a private firm. Heed has worked on and off as a lawyer for the state since the 1970s.

“I sincerely regret any error I may have made and I will address it in a straightforward way,” the bar-certified man stated today.