To the Editor:

Enough is enough. Let’s stop the foolishness and start working out the details of the Exit 11 TIF district and put away this unprofessional behavior and get the job done. Hooksett voted for Cabela’s and that’s that.

As last week’s editorial said, “Let’s stick to facts and work to come to an agreement everyone can be happy with, to the benefit of Hooksett.”

Let’s stop this three-ring circus of “she said, he said,” of councilors pointing fingers and investigating each other. Let’s stop the debate in weekly letters in The Hooksett Banner. The following statements that appeared in the Banner are unbecoming of the town council:

1. “Don’t trust your councilors and I am one of them.”

2. “He is now the unofficial court jester of the council.”

3. “He’s determined to waste the council’s time investigating.”

4. “We don’t condone her tactics.”

5. “He is victim of one Hooksett town councilor’s treachery.”

6 “What sort of shenanigans is the town council up to now?”

It’s time for this to stop. It is making the council and town look like fools.

Hooksett town councilors should stop writing letters to the Banner each week and start talking with each other and not at each other. Perhaps someday even the editors of the Banner might get tired of printing weekly letters from the same people. And two of our state representatives need stop stirring the pot with twisted logic and scare tactics because they voted against Cabela’s and start doing their jobs and get as much help from the state as possible.

As a side, this current situation reminds me of what I said in 1993 when I defended the Town Charter. During this time, Hooksett was considering, under a petition article, eliminating the council form of government and returning to a selectman form of government which had existed only four years earlier. The necessity of such a petition was some people felt the council form of government was unresponsive and ineffective.

With all this craziness occurring now with the council, one could say the same thing. What I said back in 1993 is still true today ­ it is not the council that is failing to do its job, it’s the individual councilor who is failing to do their job. The Hooksett Town Council is only as good as its members and with the way some of our councilors are behaving recently, the council is getting a big fat “F.” We voted for you to make Hooksett a better place to live and run the town according to the wishes of the voters.

Enough is enough. Stop the foolishness and let’s get our government running the way it should be. The side show must end.

Jim Sullivan
Hooksett

To the Editor:

Was Councilor DiBitetto “engaging in personalities?” His resorting to name calling and personal attacks shows he lacks an argument. He may think it’s a joke, and I’m a jester, but he is the ringmaster in this circus. He is the one vehemently engaged in an effort to remove an elected councilor, Pat Rueppel. I would rather not address his allegations and rude defamation of my character, but will. I must use more than 350 words this time. I hope The Banner will print all 646, as they have for him.

I think I have every one of the e-mails in question, and some. I was denied copies from the Banner and was told by Mr. Mike he would give me copies, but he didn’t. I just wanted to see what they all had. Text, taken out of context, is a pretext. How do you judge intent when you only hear a small part of the conversation? As a child, most learn about the impropriety and unreliability of eavesdropping. It has been a ridiculous and sophomoric episode. I hope it ends soon.

As for the planning board meeting, I think it was the growth management ordinance he was referring to. My question as to whether the planning board, on its own, sets the rate was rhetorical. That was the point; they have failed us in the past and want to continue having all the power over growth. My other question was whether it was a simple or super majority vote, approving the rate. That was not spelled out in the extremely lengthy, but incomplete ordinance. Good thing it isn’t going to the voters (and court, again).

I never accused anyone of filling their property. The one sentence used the term “purported;” reported to me by others, the property had received fill. As I informed the offended party, in-person at the polls, I may have been misled and failed to use more discretion, but had reason to believe the story. I said I would apologize, in this paper, if proved wrong. I have not heard back since.

There was no “opining” about Mr. DiBitetto’s phone call, it was clearly described in an e-mail to Evelyn Horne, Mike DiBitetto and David Jodoin at town hall, from Denise Pichette Volk, which was forwarded around. (Pesky e-mails.) It reads: “Mike DiBitetto called, essentially to ask me to step aside in favor of Mr. Nahikian.” This letter was sent one hour and 13 minutes after she sent her letter of interest. Fifty minutes later, she sent the third, revised version. Was there a second call? Then, the second letter was not in the official correspondence to the council, but the first and third were.

With all that, you bet I was suspicious, but did no more than verbally and editorially admonish the behavior, not the person, to show the contrast of his actions and Pat’s letters. I didn’t use any insults, degrading terms, demean his intelligence, nor question his motives. I addressed the facts directly and impersonally, because they are legitimate concerns. As for facts, the fact is, Mr. DiBitetto has yet to engage me in any kind of factual debate over questions I’ve been raising for years. My lazy mind is certainly trained better in English grammar, usage and punctuation, if our letters are used as a measure. As for the mouth, well, I’ll make a gentleman’s wager that he is the hands-down champion of total words uttered at council meetings.

I did fail slightly, and used the imagery of a “pot calling a kettle black.” (Just some editorial latitude and a little levity, there.) Hopefully no one will overreact to my use of an old cliche. Unfortunately, I can’t resist writing this, either. In response to the Banner claiming I’m making a circus of the process: They are the “barkers” and Mike DiBitetto is the “ringmaster,” as anyone can see.

David Ross
Hooksett

To the Editor:

I have followed the developments on the town council with dismay. I believe that, by definition, anyone who runs for an elected position must have a healthy ego and a desire to serve by leading. Too often, however, people who operate in the political frame use these strengths to promote themselves at the expense of the “team” and the people whom they serve, rather than searching for common ground and developing shared expectations of how they will behave together. The result is often an embarrassment that offers a poor model of leadership for the community. I believe that is the current case in Hooksett, and I have some thoughts and suggestions to share.

First, stop playing the “blame game” and look for shared contributions to a problem. If something has gone wrong, it is tempting to lay blame at one person’s feet, but fault generally is the sum of misunderstandings, mistakes and faulty assumptions on the part of the larger group. Each person on the council needs to look not only at other people’s contribution to a problem but also must be thoughtful and willing to examine their own behavior and how that might have contributed to the situation.

Second, be ready to admit mistakes, misunderstandings and faulty assumptions. It is not (generally) criminal to make a mistake, and a speedy and sincere apology serves the best interests of the individual, the group and the taxpayers.

Third, realize that apology becomes impossible in an atmosphere of “gotcha.” The most certain path to destructive stalemate is the public trading of accusations and repeated attempts at journalistic, self-righteous grandstanding.

Finally, understand that people in elected positions must be willing to implement the will of the electorate and be willing to work for the best interests of the people. It seems to me that much of the current discord on the council is due to councilors talking past each other, accusing each other of failing to implement the will of the voters or failing to work for the best interests of the community. In fact, each and every councilor needs to do both. In the case of the Cabela’s development, the will of the voters is clear ­ the required majority wants the council to continue working with Cabela’s on the framework for a TIF development bond. I believe it goes without saying that most, if not all, taxpayers expect that councilors will do their best within these approved parameters to protect the taxpayers’ interests to the greatest extent practicable. In general on the other hand, shrouding a process in mystery beyond the requirements of the law, particularly one as significant as the Cabela’s development, will not be seen as serving the taxpayers’ best interests. Elected groups such as school boards and town councils, in my opinion, generally do a poor job of engaging in meaningful dialogue with taxpayers and voters beyond the deliberative session, and yet this is one of their most important functions. Transparency, practiced early and wherever possible, serves to build trust and a feeling of shared context and common understandings.

Mending rifts is never easy and is certainly made more difficult under public scrutiny. For the sake of the community and the councilors themselves, I hope they try.

Becky Berk

Hooksett

To the Editor:

It is that time again. Hooksett firefighters are hitting the streets with their boots in hand, asking people to donate money to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. You’ll see us in our bright yellow MDA shirts, carrying around firefighter boots in hopes of your generous donations.

We will be at some of the major intersections in Hooksett the next few months. One hundred percent of the money raised during these events will help support MDA services and research programs.

They include MDA’s outpatient clinics for people with more than forty neuromuscular diseases at Dartmouth Hitchcock clinics in Bedford and Hanover. Families are able to benefit from services such as monthly support groups, assistance in the purchase of wheelchair, leg braces, and communications devices as well as a summer camp programs in New England.

For over 50 years, the International Association of Fire Fighters has been a major fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This will be the fourth year Hooksett firefighters have participated in this nationwide fundraiser.

Our first year we raised $600. Last year we raised over $21,000. Thanks to your generous donations during our Boot Drive, only one fire department in New Hampshire raised more money than we did. We again thank the residents of Hooksett and the neighboring towns and ask for your donations to make this year even more successful to raise money for Jerry’s Kids.

If you do not see us while you are out driving your car, please feel free to send any size donation to the Hooksett Fire Department Local 3264 c/o MDA at 15 Legends Drive. Thank you again.

Hooksett Permanent Fire Fighters Association Local 3264