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• Wendy French Fries (Saturday, January 03 26 02:44 pm EST)

  "Doesn’t Claremont lead the area for teen pregnancy and high school dropouts?"
  
  That's Heather Whitney's Claremont for ya.
  
  As for Bill's Executive summary, i think you need to make it one paragraph, only use small words and read it to him with illustrations for it to sink in. If only he spent half as much time looking at the districts finances as he spent bitching about executive summaries.
  
  Then we got the biggest scumbag, Frank Sprague. See the Valley News. Basically admitted he was asleep at the switch and wasn't watching the finances while he has been on the board for years. Only cares about getting his family members jobs.
  
  We used to have a word for a woman, like Heidi Sprague, who was with a man for money / job.
  
  REPLACE THEM ALL

• Wendy (Saturday, January 03 26 02:15 pm EST)

  Doesn’t Claremont lead the area for teen pregnancy and high school dropouts?

• Helpful Citizen (Saturday, January 03 26 01:00 pm EST)

  This is for Bill Madden:
  
  Executive Summary
  
  The Claremont School District has begun development of the FY27 budget and is committed to keeping the community informed and engaged throughout the process. This year’s budget planning is taking place under unusual circumstances, as previously approved budget figures were based on inaccurate information, outstanding prior-year obligations remain, and additional unanticipated costs—particularly in special education and health insurance—must now be addressed. As a result, the FY27 budget is being built largely from the ground up.
  
  Public participation is a core value of this process. While budget subcommittee meetings are open to the public, formal public comment will occur at designated meetings, which will be announced in advance. A detailed budget calendar will outline opportunities for engagement, discussion, and voting.
  
  District leadership has presented two preliminary budget scenarios based on different school configurations—a three-school model and a four-school model—with a third “status quo” option in development. These options are being evaluated through the lens of three primary priorities: improving student achievement, determining the most effective and sustainable school configuration for current and future populations, and understanding the impact on the local property tax rate.
  
  Declining student enrollment, a trend seen statewide and nationally, requires the district to carefully consider how many schools and staff are needed to deliver high-quality education while managing operating costs responsibly. Three school configuration options are under consideration, ranging from maintaining the current four-school structure to reconfiguring grade groupings or moving to a three-school model. No decisions have been made, and the School Board will continue to review data, discuss tradeoffs, and solicit community input before making final determinations.
  
  The FY27 budget process will be complex and challenging, but district leaders, staff, the School Board, and families share a commitment to working collaboratively to strengthen educational outcomes while remaining mindful of financial realities. The community will continue to receive updates as the process moves forward.

• Harry Wyfeswappir (Thursday, January 01 26 09:33 am EST)

  Wake up is a freaking pot head with anxiety issues. Take some more stipends you dolt

• Wake Up (Wednesday, December 31 25 06:50 pm EST)

  A phone number for a shelter on a website, next to a phone number for a different shelter in White River? That's the best you got. Also that isn't the state.
  
  All you Fox-news watching trump-tards need to learn something. Everything isn't someone else's fault. You're not addicted to drugs because of China. You're addicted to drugs because you are a weak POS. You aren't unemployed because other countries are cheating the US on trade. You are unemployed because you don't have any skills. Claremont is on the decline not because immigrants are here, or the state is sending wellfare queens here. It is on the decline because  Claremonters elect dumbass leaders, who do dumbass things.
  
  Anyone who gives a shit about their kid has left rather than let their kids rot in the school system. Anyone who can do math realizes that while it might be a bit cheaper to buy a home in Claremont, but you don't save anything after you figure in property taxes. If you are in Claremont and have kids, they should be taken away from you for being a terrible parent if you haven't left.
  
  My advice to everyone is get the fuck out now, before housing values drop even more when people realize how fucked up the city is. Thank you again school board!
  
  And that would be true even if Lebanon didn't have a Claremont homeless shelters phone number on their webpage. You aren't a victim, and this it's not a conspiracy. The problem is you.

• Bill (Wednesday, December 31 25 05:27 pm EST)

  "I've been hearing the Claremont is the state's dumping ground for years, and there isn't anything to support that claim". Looks like Lebanon thinks Claremont is a dumping ground. Just go to the Lebanon NH City website under How to Apply for Assistance section. It says to call Claremont Shelter 603-542-3160.

• Ghost of Christmas Future (Wednesday, December 31 25 05:08 pm EST)

  Jim: Still time to write something positive before 2025 is gone. Think about it.

• GFY Cindy (Wednesday, December 31 25 02:34 pm EST)

  Cindy: You're clealy making all of this up!!
  
  "I’m not one to call out another community by name or publish 31 emails." <-- you just did in your last email!
  
  "Do you really want to see 31 posts from me on this form or a long post of 31 emails?" <-- yes. but you can post them in a single message or put them online and provide a link. How about you start by just posting **a single one** in its entirity if you aren't making the whole thing up?
  
  "...I find it disrespectful to call out another town...." <--- you came here and did exactly that to start the conversation. I find it resrespectful for you to come here and post this without being willing to back any of it up.

• Cindy (Wednesday, December 31 25 02:09 pm EST)

  I’m not one to call out another community by name or publish 31 emails. You can email communities around the state and see what they give you. Do you really want to see 31 posts from me on this form or a long post of 31 emails? Most of these emails had pictures, names of people, addresses and links in them. It would be a cluster of a mess if I shared these on this form plus I find it disrespectful to call out another town by name that are trying to help someone.

• Greg B (Wednesday, December 31 25 12:51 pm EST)

  Foreigners are a big problem in our city. We have business ran by taliban style people here and by the drug cartel. We need ICE to come save our city!

• Truth (Wednesday, December 31 25 10:22 am EST)

  judging from this forum, the city is in really bad shape

• Hector Seroni (Wednesday, December 31 25 09:31 am EST)

  Wasn’t there a couple daycares run by immigrants in claremont
  One from Enfield too
  Grants?

• Lying Cindy (Wednesday, December 31 25 08:42 am EST)

  Cindy: I'm not happy about some of the trash that Claremont has collected either, but what you say isn't true. I've been hearing the Claremont is the state's dumping ground for years, and there isn't anything to support that claim. There is nothing different about how Claremont gives out social services than any of the other major cities. Claremont's problem isn't that the state has dump bad people on us, its that the good people leave and we are stuck with ignorant lazy dishonest trash.
  
  Post the 31 emails if they are real.

• Insider (Wednesday, December 31 25 05:54 am EST)

  How much money do you think Claremont daycare pocket from the state. Jim we need to do some investigating into this

• Cindy (Tuesday, December 30 25 09:40 pm EST)

  I emailed 43 communities in NH about where I should go when I have little money and need support services. 31 communities told me to go check out Claremont as they have ample airport services for everything. The remainder of the communities either welcomed me, didn’t respond, or recommended somewhere else besides Claremont. It looks as if the city is once again the place where the state sends everyone they don’t want.

• I'm done with Claremont (Tuesday, December 30 25 09:19 pm EST)

  Guess we can't have nice things, when even McElreavy turns out to be a a-hole.
  
  Hope you enjoying sitting at home looking at you precious photos, scumbag.

• Sick Town (Tuesday, December 30 25 05:05 pm EST)

  Looks like bully McElreavy made the poor woman take down her post appologizing to him now. Makes me fucking sick.

• I’m the Captain now (Tuesday, December 30 25 04:59 pm EST)

  Jim haven’t you seen the Somoli daycare scandal? Just walk around with your cell phone and you can capture some of this fraud.

• McJerk (Tuesday, December 30 25 04:41 pm EST)

  I always thought McElreavy was a decent guy. But if this is true he is a huge piece of shit. He has posted all kinds of crap on his channel since this broke and hasn't addressed it.
  
  Did you write all those old news story you keep posting, Wayne?

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, December 30 25 04:31 pm EST)

  John, great idea; I hadn’t thought of it. I have submitted through the SAU #6 Request for Information Portal for that information with one modification; many if not all of these anonymous people (if some of them actually exist) may have been paid via electronic banking; if so there should be some sort of record of that, which is also subject to the NH Right to Know Law. We will see what I receive. It may take a little while as the SAU Office is probably closed for the holiday break.
  While on the subject of the Stipends, after I am done reporting about Stipend Classifications I will begin publishing the Name, Description & Amount Paid Columns of the entire Official Claremont School District Stipend Payment Spreadsheet for Fiscal Year 2025. I will start from the top and publish so many entries each week until I have published every single entry; this could take many weeks as there are 2,929 entries in total. I believe this is something that needs to be done because Claremont Tax Dollars were spent on these Stipends totaling $4,414,987.48, which represents 11.15% of the entire Claremont School District Budget for Fiscal Year 2025! Everyone deserves to know where those tax dollars went! The fact that it appears that the Stipends have not been curtailed in the Proposed Budgets for Fiscal Year 2027 should have anyone here in Claremont irate! Because if they were then the Proposed Budget Spending should have been reduced by well over $4 million and it wasn’t! Suggesting that the Claremont Taxpayers are getting screwed again by School Officials!

• only count to 4 (Tuesday, December 30 25 03:10 pm EST)

  It is crazy how stipend is being handled. It looks like off ledger sketching crap going on. It should be carved into the districts direct accounting. To be fair it maybe because the spread sheet was assembled from different parts of the ledgers, hope that is not the case. That and having so many header categories is also weird again if they are using it for accounting dissection to be able to do key reporting. It really looks like it needs a complete rebuild moving forward.

• John J. O’Connor (Tuesday, December 30 25 07:23 am EST)

  Got a question?
  It’s seems thousands of dollars have been dished out to numerous “anonymous” people but those people must have received checks and those checks had to be endorsed and deposited into specific accounts.
  Jim, would I be possible to do a 91-a on those cancelled checks to determine who they were given to ?
  As far as the Wayne’s problems are concerned. It is my understanding, once a photo is put online it is now “public property “ so Wayne has no expectation of privacy or ownership.
  He bullied that poor woman, shame on you Wayne.

• Robert (Tuesday, December 30 25 05:55 am EST)

  Kerry Kennedy and Matthew Angell seemed to be doing the same thing their predecessors did. Do nothing to solve the problems and sit back and collect the big paycheck. Jim has done an excellent job reporting what has been occurring with the Claremont school district’s finances with the documents to back up his reporting. The school district seems to be hemorrhaging $1 million or more each month with no end in sight. The attorney fees and the consultant fees continue to mount unabated. The line of credit with Claremont Savings Bank may be depleted when only half of the $4 million credit line was scheduled to be used by January 1. The legislation to allow school districts to borrow adequacy aid funding ahead of schedule will not be available until well after April 17 when the $4 million of credit line with Claremont Savings Bank must be completely repaid with interest. Other legislation proposed to hand over to the Claremont school district $5 million for the Stevens High School building renovation would also be unavailable prior to April 17. There is no guarantee that either legislation will be approved. I am of the opinion that neither will be signed into law. I am concerned that the school district will be bankrupt come either April or May and school may not be opened in September. School leaders are not living within their budget and Kerry Kennedy, Matthew Angell and the school board members are not reducing spending to try to change that outcome. I agree with Jim that it seems that the $4.5 million stipend program is still active in next year's budget seeing that the proposed budgets are more expensive than this year’s budget and they do not include the budget deficit that will be addressed in the next school year. Our school leaders continue to let us down and hide the truth of how bad things are. Without Jim Sullivan’s reporting we would all be in the dark about practically everything.

• This Day in Claremont History (Tuesday, December 30 25 12:59 am EST)

  1 day ago today, December 29, 2025, Claremont local Wayne McElreavy proved himself to be a giant douchebag by demanding a local facebook user remove a photo of a high school parade float in a post about her high school reunion be removed because he took it.
  
  McElreavy joins the ranks of other well-known local A-holes like disgraced police officer Jon Stone and the local school board who screwed over the entire town spending like drunken sailors and then cutting education and raising taxes.
  
  McElreavy was once a well-regarded source of local history before revealing himself to be a selfish jerk. Despite the facebook poster writing a heartfelt apology to McElreavy, he didn't bother to respond or explain himself.
  
  McElreavy is well-known to post photos others have taken to facebook.

• Guss (Monday, December 29 25 10:42 pm EST)

  What is Wayne McElreavy's problem giving someone shit about posting a photo he took of a alumni parade float on Facebook and making her take it down and post an lengthy "heart felt" appology? Grow up, dude.

• Insider (Monday, December 29 25 03:54 pm EST)

  Your stupid stipend collecting stank ass is pathetic.

• Mr. Wright (Monday, December 29 25 02:44 pm EST)

  Steve Scott has a point. It would be nice if Jim could see the good in something, sometime. But I am glad he does what he does.

• Citizen (Monday, December 29 25 02:37 pm EST)

  Insider is pathetic. Now that his he no longer works for the city he has nothing good to say.

• Patrick & Matthew (Monday, December 29 25 01:18 pm EST)

  Your mom

• Sarah (Monday, December 29 25 09:57 am EST)

  Jim reports the important news we need to know. The stipend scandal was hidden by school leaders for years while many profited off of the unsuspecting taxpayers. Nick has been on the city council for lots of years and what has he accomplished? Nothing that's what. All show and mouth and no go.

• Steve Scott (Monday, December 29 25 08:02 am EST)

  Yes, "Steve" Koloski surely cares what the 6 people here who complain about everything but do nothing think about his reputation. This page had proven so powerful it has shut him down and had his vote count dramatically increase over the years. Oh wait. He build more businesses and gets a higher vote count each year. My mistake. Carry on. Jim, you seem to miss what they are saying. I also watched the podcast. There is more content there in an hour then your ramblings but you only choose negative. Imagine just being able to be happy someone else is attempting to keep people informed. It wasn't all doom so you can support it. Did you used to sit and scowl at people doing things you can't? You certain do now.

• Andrew (Monday, December 29 25 05:59 am EST)

  No salt huh?
  
  What else can we cut?

• Heather Must Go. NOW!!! (Monday, December 29 25 01:05 am EST)

  How much more corruption needs to be uncovered from Heather Whitney's administration before she resigns in disgrace.
  
  What a narsasitic, incompetent and corrupt woman she is to sit up there and lecture the town on how the schools should run, and how taxpayer money should be spent, after all of this has been exposed.

• Current employee (Sunday, December 28 25 06:36 pm EST)

  But we can pay a city manger, hr director, planning and development director, and city planner way to much.

• Tyler (Sunday, December 28 25 06:32 pm EST)

  I want to work here with the students to give them
  My speech impediments but you are cheap

• City employee (Sunday, December 28 25 06:16 pm EST)

  As a current employee of the city this site is becoming boring and boring. As someone who doesn’t live in the city and my kids don’t got to Claremont I don’t care about the school. Maybe the taxes should be hire to give the kids and education. I care about all the heat going on in city hall and planning and development. Like how can the city be losing more money on 17 water then what was originally agreed on?!!

• Steve (Sunday, December 28 25 06:03 pm EST)

  Jim you have to know it's Nick Koloski writing these comments to protect his reputation because he is the only one who cares about it. That's why he's a narcissist

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 28 25 06:00 pm EST)

  I never wrote that Hemingway's Bill was ever discussed by the Council. I correctly stated that the Council takeover of the School Budget was discussed on more than one occasion and it was stated that it would require a legislative change and no one on the Council voiced any objection to having the Council take over. Hemingway never said he was going to submit a Bill and the text of that Bill was never discussed. I reported it correctly you are just trying to read into it with things that were not stated for your own political spin. Nice try but an epic fail.

• Matt (Sunday, December 28 25 05:13 pm EST)

  Jim is lying like Trump.

• Horse Blinders (Sunday, December 28 25 05:12 pm EST)

  Jim, you really might be on point if you took your personal spin out of everything. I watched the Granite podcast you reference. It had substance. More than usual and it was nice to hear topics. I watch council meetings and your lie is clear when you try to claim the council discussed with State Rep Hemingway a proposed law change. You mix facts with fiction. This council did not discuss the topic and Mr. K and Girard are correct, it should have been.

• Richard (Sunday, December 28 25 04:13 pm EST)

  We are getting screwed by the school leaders big-time. A $70,000 payday for a few weeks work is insane. I can see why they are keeping their identities a secret. I wonder if all this money being paid out is being reported to the IRS? All this money wasted and the test scores are atrocious. This is one of the biggest scams ever in Claremont and the school government leaders are the ones stealing from us.

• Frankie (Sunday, December 28 25 04:13 pm EST)

  Two loudmouths on the stipend list again. Surprise surprise. So many extreme liberals on the list. I see Pattys partner with a nice 1000 for bagels…wth
  Who comes up with this

• Teresa (Sunday, December 28 25 04:12 pm EST)

  Walmart is out of milk and market basket is out of bread. Where can I get these things?

• Insider (Sunday, December 28 25 04:02 pm EST)

  “Ice is stupid” Rocky Balboa

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 28 25 03:28 pm EST)

  Two new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) The Claremont School District Stipend Scandal! Part #3 Summertime; Fun, Sun & Massive Government Waste!
  
  2) Meanwhile in Concord…

• Demand me sausage boy (Sunday, December 28 25 03:17 pm EST)

  Vermont Reddit shows Claremont in doomsday zone for Ice tonight. God bless us all during this doomsday event.

• Insider (Sunday, December 28 25 01:13 pm EST)

  It’s no wonder two Minnesotans were working at planning and developing Claremont. Now the Minnesotan works at the school. Hmmmm?? Hmmmmmm???
  Yeah
  Take a bath

• Kennedy Sucks Big Time (Saturday, December 27 25 02:43 pm EST)

  Are you seeing all this "Decenuary" nonsense the school district keeps posting on Facebook? If you've got spare time, how about using it to help a kid learn to read or do basic math—instead of posting to social media fluff?
  
  Decenuary (n.): The pointless content a school district pumps out online when test scores are in the toilet, just to pretend they're engaged without actually fixing the real problems.
  
  Stuff like hyping Pajama Day or the teachers at Maple griping about missing the Christmas concert.
  Enough already. Focus on teaching kids to read this holiday season—for Christ's sake.
  
  Kennedy needs to go. At least 90% of the words that come out of her mouth at meetings or on social media should be directly related to raising kids test scores.

• superintendent (Saturday, December 27 25 01:33 pm EST)

  The school is asking for donations to help with salt. We have ran out of money and the city won’t help us fund the transgender students so we have taking our safety budget to help the students find who they are

• Friendly (Saturday, December 27 25 12:04 pm EST)

  I wish we could post pictures on this form because boy some of this stuff is stupid.

• Butthead (Saturday, December 27 25 10:49 am EST)

  You morons I watched WMUR this morning. They have the entire city in Green. No ice expected here. If you want ice go move to Newport they had them in pink. DPW will not be out treating roads if it’s going to be above freezing and rain. Can’t get ice if things are above freezing. Remember 32 degrees Fahrenheit is freezing and 0 degrees Celsius is freezing. I know Claremont no longer teaches this in school.

• Glenn (Saturday, December 27 25 10:44 am EST)

  Hey DPW how much salt would I need to drive 3 miles to work? I saw the ice storm is going to be a major ice storm.

• DPW Director (Saturday, December 27 25 09:05 am EST)

  After consideration to the coming ice storm and a deep look into it. We here at DPW plan on not salting the roads due to the lack of tax payer funding. If you would like to salt the roads please by salt yourself. We plan on asking to double your taxes to help pay for this.

• Weatherman Rudy (Friday, December 26 25 01:36 pm EST)

  Jim please talk about the huge ice storm coming Sunday night. Do you think the DPW department will pre treat the roads before the storm or treat them after it?

• Outsider (Friday, December 26 25 07:23 am EST)

  That’s right, because Jim and I actually work together.
  Jim, the files at planning and development are a mess. Constantly finding mixed up files and info in different folders. Jim these files should be audited and should be accurate.

• Jim Sullivan (Thursday, December 25 25 04:32 pm EST)

  I did not write the post falsely attributed to me at 3:44 PM today. Everyone have a Merry Christmas.

• Insider (Thursday, December 25 25 04:11 pm EST)

  Jim you’re a moron, respectfully. You miss every big story from the resignations to all the issues I point out. You still haven’t gotten the emails. You still haven’t researched the city hall. You still haven’t gotten the information about the fire department. You brush the scandals under the rug because you’re too embarrassed to know the truth like a little school boy.

• Jim Sullivan (Thursday, December 25 25 03:44 pm EST)

  Insider,
  
  Every time I do my investigation you don’t have a clue what you are talking about. Your source from inside the planning office is giving you wrong information. Time to back off and let the real real information come through

• Insider (Thursday, December 25 25 01:09 pm EST)

  Ok folks, who’s ready for a big reveal?

• Insider (Thursday, December 25 25 05:25 am EST)

  Wow wow wow. Huge announcement coming
  Huge beyond belief
  Y’all that trust me and privately tell me about leads know

• Jim (Wednesday, December 24 25 08:52 pm EST)

  Damn. I see the emu commercial played out really well here. Simple folk here huh? You did see the same posts from the Shanty in Newbury and Daddy's Pizza right? No? Guess everyone including Shankys liquor worldwide must have emotional support Emus. You folks might want to get one if you think calling someone Nicky etc. really offends adults. Do you need safe space? Oh, my gosh..someone added a Y to a mans name. To think a grown man wrote an "article" on this says a ton.

• At least we agree on one thing... (Wednesday, December 24 25 06:12 pm EST)

  I love it how people will sometimes defend Nick, but no one even attempts to defend those disgusting losers on the school board. Regardless of where you stand on the other issues, everyone agrees those losers screwed over the entire town.

• Barbie (Wednesday, December 24 25 06:09 pm EST)

  This is the classic argument to avoid talking about the substance. If I investigate and criticize X (Topstone, say), and someone can point to something maybe worse Y (Sweet Fire, say), then my criticism of X is deemed unfair unless I also jump up and investigate Y.
  
  You can't criticize Trump unless you also criticize Biden. You can't criticize Biden unless you also criticize Trump. You can't call out Jan 6th unless you call out BLM. You can't call out BLM unless you call out Jan 6th. ETC ETC ETC.
  
  It's just a diversion tactic when you don't want to engage on the merits. No one has the ability to investigate each and everything thing.

• Sourpuss (Wednesday, December 24 25 05:58 pm EST)

  AWW Nicky Koloski is upset and his stuffed comfort emu isn't doing it for him anymore. Go suck your thumb Nicky it always worked when you were little.

• Ken (Wednesday, December 24 25 05:55 pm EST)

  Spencer. Using your own advice how many things had Jim stated here about people and how many criminal charges, violations or investigations how been launched. You would think with all the smoking guns he furnishes the attorney general would openly accept his calls. You must not get the point since you offer guidelines not met here. Spencer, if that is a real name is right. Only certain people are spoken about and if the sweetfire thing is real, than it does highlight blind eye to everyone but 1 single person. Seems sketchy at best. No?

• Scrooge (Wednesday, December 24 25 05:49 pm EST)

  I find it amusing some of you or perhaps the same anonymous person thinks they are speaking at or to Koloski. You should speak to him directly about comments if you believe he spends a moment on them. I once sent him a screenshot. He kindly requested I do not. He replied he wished Mr. Sullivan well but won't partake. He also sends Jim's emails to spam. I imagine I would as well if someone constantly name called and insulted me. I think the anonymous posters here can and should do better. Meanwhile keep directing things to a guy who is not in the room. I mean, if it makes you feel better. Merry Christmas to all.

• Unfair Comments (Wednesday, December 24 25 04:43 pm EST)

  I’ve read all of the comments about the school board, and about Heather in particular, and I’m appalled by how many of them are unfounded and unfair.
  
  One comment even compared Heather to a snake. That comparison is completely uncalled for. Snakes are far more honorable creatures: they fear you more than you fear them, they play an essential role in the ecosystem, and most importantly no snake chose to be a snake. Heather, on the other hand, did choose her role, and with it the responsibility to provide proper oversight. She chose to preside over a process that resulted in a $5 million failure and all of the fallout that followed. The lack of sports funding. The 40 layoffs. The public ridicule of Claremont.
  
  How dare anyone malign snakes by associating them with her level of evil and failure.

• Hypocrite Hathaway (Wednesday, December 24 25 02:23 pm EST)

  Christmas is a time to remember that there is good and evil in the world. The good is hard to find sometimes, but the evil makes itself clear.
  
  This year evil came to Claremont in the form of the SUA6 administration and the Claremont school board.
  
  Don't let Heather's religious lies fool you. She is not a Christian. Christians don't tolerate stealing and lying. She's lied herself many times and sat there with her head in the sand as others were stealing. Then she did all of her secret meetings to keep everything hush hush.
  
  Christians don't rail against trans operations at a school board meeting, and then go brag about how she makes her money holding the hand of people getting trans surgery at a hospital that defies federal orders to stop the procedures.
  
  If you support trans, let the schools have policies to protect trans kids. If you're against trans, then don't help PERFORM the procedures and take money for it.
  
  Heather Hypocrite Hathaway.

• Most Claremont Officials (Wednesday, December 24 25 01:39 pm EST)

  "how much are they paying. I'll do anything for money" -most Claremont officials

• Dry Cleaning (Wednesday, December 24 25 01:37 pm EST)

  If the contamination to the top stone building is really coming from SweetFire, why hasn't the owners sued their ass to make them pay for the clean up?
  
  Has anyone checked if they have a dry cleaning fluid drink? Maybe that's the source.
  
  And just for good measure, in the holiday spirit: fuck you school board.

• Watching You (Wednesday, December 24 25 12:22 pm EST)

  Nick: you're much more likable on TV and in person than you are as an internet troll on this forum. Be better.

• Spencer (Wednesday, December 24 25 12:10 pm EST)

  Spence: Here's my problem with your comments. It's not Jim's, or anyone else's, job to investigate everything that someone suggests. If you think there is something shady going on at SweetFire or anywhere else, report it to the authorities, or write your own blog about it.

• True Grinch (Wednesday, December 24 25 12:07 pm EST)

  Just remember that the true villain who stole Christmas, increased your taxes, destroyed the schools, fired dozens of teachers, and is driving down your property value because no on is going to want to move here is.
  
  Heather Whitney and her corrupt school board members, particularly her lap dog Petrin, and Mr. "I'll screw over anyone as long as my family members are on the payroll" Frank Sprague.
  
  Have you seen a single one of those selfish lazy morons out doing anything other than showing up to meetings and screwing us over. Even the city council members attempt to do something to look involved.
  
  If you see one of these SOBs out in the while, I strongly encourage you to express your view to them with a middle finger or other appropriate salute. They robbed you and your children and don't give a F.

• Spence (Wednesday, December 24 25 12:06 pm EST)

  Ah, yes everyone who points out the oblivious agenda of the person that runs this page is a councilman. Same story anytime someone disagrees with any topic. Get a life. No idea what is up with SweetFire. I don't really care. Seems dead on accurate that the focus is only on people who volunteer or try and make change. Label me whatever you like. I am a taxpayer and think for myself. Drink the cool aid. Eat at Sweet Fire. Make your own choices. Insider, someone stating public records should not have to watch what they say. Perhaps pay more attention to facts instead of the dumb shit you post. Feel free to show the liquor license they are selling booze for cash under. That is accurate. We walked out after being told cash only and keep our mouths shut. I will wait. Please show the rooms and meals filings for this past calendar year. I thought nothing of it until being told cash only. Please negate the posters comment about anything including a file labeled "Sweetfire BBQ" on the department of Environmental Services website that another reader posted here We are all on pins and needles. The point? We can only cast doubt here on city volunteers. Nobody else. Fair game and clearly not some fake agenda.

• Tim (Wednesday, December 24 25 11:17 am EST)

  "Allen": pretty sure we all know who you are. Councilman.
  
  If sweet fire is doing something wrong, call the police, state police, state revenue office, state liquor commission, .... whoever is in charge of enforcing whatever rules and report them. I have no connection to Sweet Fire, but this they are doing all this stuff wrong, we all know about it, but no one ever shows up to enforce anything doesn't hold a lot of water.

• Insider (Wednesday, December 24 25 08:56 am EST)

  Be careful what you say about sweet fire.

• Insider ? (Wednesday, December 24 25 06:02 am EST)

  Jim, you’re damn lazy. I give you lay up leads and you complain. I’ve been RIGHT about everything. You ignore me to the detriment of the citizens. Here you go in plain English you dolt: check the citizen complaints for 2025.

• Ghost of Christmas Future (Wednesday, December 24 25 02:16 am EST)

  I look forward to the Sullivan Report every week. It’s part of my Sunday ritual, and when it’s missing, the coffee doesn’t quite taste right. Jim does important work: there is real incompetence and corruption in this town, and it deserves to be exposed.
  
  But there are also people here, even in city government, who are trying to do the right thing, who sometimes manage to do something decent or admirable.
  
  Maybe this holiday season you could find room for just one story that calls out something done well you've noticed or appreciated.
  
  You’ve become part of Claremont’s fabric, whether you meant to or not, and when the town’s next history is written, you’ll certainly be a chapter. I hope that chapter includes not only fire and accountability, but a bit of compassion and grace too.

• Rose (Tuesday, December 23 25 08:05 pm EST)

  Council members leaving 5 star reviews for sweet fire BBQ now? Go take a look at the newest review for sweet fire BBQ. Little suspicious if you ask me.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, December 23 25 05:58 pm EST)

  Specifically what type of complaints? I don't want to start a fishing expedition.

• Insider (Tuesday, December 23 25 05:29 pm EST)

  Want to do something fun Jim? Look at all the complaints at the visiting center for the last year and the lack of follow up. It is insane!

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, December 23 25 04:19 pm EST)

  Ricky,
  
  City Officials are dragging their feet to get studies done. If the soils study is any indication the building should be condemned at least temporarily until it is repaired if City Officials decide to repair the building. Remember, our new City Manager Nancy Bates said that an expert stated that the building was safe despite what the soil study stated regarding all of the building's deficiencies. She did not say who the expert was. I submitted a right to know request to get a copy of the so-called experts written opinion and was informed that no such document existed! Are you smelling bull shit coming from the new City Manager? Well I sure am! Neither she nor the Council seems to care about the safety of the staff who work there or the members of the public who entered the building to conduct business with the City! Presumably nothing will change for the next two years now that 7 of the Councilors got reelected and now they no longer have to pretend to care about the public and can go right back to treating them rudely at Council meetings by not answering any of their questions or actually representing them as they are supposed to because these Councilors only care about representing themselves and the special interests that they really represent.
  
  On another topic, I am starting to work on this upcoming Sundays article regarding the next chapter in the Claremont School District Fiscal Year 2025 Stipend Scandal and culling the summertime expenditures from the 2,930 Stipend Expenditure Entries and sorting them by expenditure type; these preliminary totals are jaw-dropping! The Claremont Taxpayers are clearly being taken to the cleaners by Claremont School Officials while many Claremont School District Staffers are lining their pockets with Taxpayer's money with the larger amounts paid out to anonymous people! I guarantee that the Claremont residents who read this article on Sunday will be quite angry and rightfully so! Further proof that all of the Claremont School Board Members epically failed in their elected duties to represent the Citizens of Claremont in so many ways with the over $5 million Budget Deficit and the Stipend Scandal topping the long list of their failures!

• Staff (Tuesday, December 23 25 06:38 am EST)

  Go around to the back door. Are you handicap or tarded? We could carry you down too dum dum

• Handy Mandy (Monday, December 22 25 08:36 pm EST)

  As a handicap person I can’t go into the visitor center cause only way to get down is the elevator. ADA requires to have it and no one will accommodate me.

• Insider (Monday, December 22 25 06:36 pm EST)

  Oh, I thought this was Claremont California. Everything I ever said was not about Claremont nh sorry bros
  I will expose all the stipend families crying at the school board meetings

• Ricky (Monday, December 22 25 01:49 pm EST)

  According to insider, maybe the homeless are the ones bumping uglies in the elevator

• Demanding Kyle (Monday, December 22 25 01:04 pm EST)

  Homeless people hang out in the bathroom. Dude left his pants in there the other day.

• Ricky (Monday, December 22 25 11:45 am EST)

  Jim,
  
  What’s going on with the visitor center. I went in to take a shit and as you walk in it he whole building is rotting out and is not even straight and you can feel it going into the river.
  
  Who’s running that project? And why isn’t the safety a concern.

• Rivera (Monday, December 22 25 09:46 am EST)

  Which family is that? I think your just making stuff up to promote a political conspiracy.
  
  When it comes to the corruption with the schools it seems they all put aside their partisan differences to scratch each others asses and cover up for each other.

• Geraldo (Monday, December 22 25 07:49 am EST)

  I see one family benefitted from the stipend scandal more than any other family. It’s good to be a Democrat I see. The loudest angriest most political active union tied family.

• John J. O’Connor (Sunday, December 21 25 08:44 pm EST)

  Great job Jim, very informative articles.
  My concern is the 10 year projection of 1100 students. It’s family’s that make up communities. So, if that projection is correct, Claremont will either be a “55 and over “ community or there will be a lot of empty houses.
  A projection that low doesn’t inspire confidence that Claremont will be a bedroom community for the Upper Valley.
  Lets not sell off the consolidated schools too quickly just in case those projections are incorrect.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 21 25 05:35 pm EST)

  Four new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) December 17, 2025 Claremont School Board Meeting Synopsis.
  
  2) Claremont School District Stipend Scandal – Part #2.
  
  3) Claremont City Council Hires Nancy Bates as City Manager; Sells 17 Water St.
  
  4) Former Owner of Eagle Times Jay Lucas Arrested & Charged by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for alleged 50 million-dollar fraud scheme!

• Testy Drummond (Sunday, December 21 25 06:37 am EST)

  Minutes? What do you want minutes for…Just full of bad news and BS

• Vector (Sunday, December 21 25 12:14 am EST)

  The city takes minutes in Spanish then translates them to English. This takes extra time and also costs a lot bit more. They will be posted by February 1st.

• To concerned (Saturday, December 20 25 10:13 pm EST)

  Whoever takes minutes at meeting is clueless and doesn’t know how.

• Bill (Saturday, December 20 25 08:06 pm EST)

  Did somebody mention crime -
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7tO8JALCSs

• Concerned (Saturday, December 20 25 07:56 pm EST)

  Why hasn’t the city posted any meeting minutes from December????

• Timmy (Saturday, December 20 25 01:59 pm EST)

  Why would anyone want to work or live here in the city. All we do is tax everyone more and more for what over paid city manager that doesn’t even have the qualifications or experience. Crime and homeless population and a school that so messed up that even school
  Board members send them away.
  
  Claremont is the joke of the area.

• Insider (Saturday, December 20 25 05:30 am EST)

  Better than getting pregnant in the visitor center elevator. That didn’t happen, but it is better
  Jim, get the video footage from the elevator from 2025

• Robert (Friday, December 19 25 12:06 pm EST)

  Hey, can someone point me to the link for the Claremont School Board meeting? Because every time I click the damn link on CCTV, it opens some grainy video of what assume is a support group for elderly folks with mental handicaps babbling unintelligibly about god-knows-what, shuffling papers, and falling asleep.

• Reptile Watch (Friday, December 19 25 10:10 am EST)

  After years of people claiming she couldn't respond to facebook comments, Heather finally slithered out from under her rock. Always strange how she claims to not be able to do it, when Loren has done it for years. Maybe her family is growing tired of having to fight her battles on social media?

• Bob (Thursday, December 18 25 09:41 pm EST)

  People who stole a car from Claremont https://www.courant.com/2025/12/18/two-arrested-after-flock-alert-helps-southington-police-find-vehicle-stolen-from-new-hampshire/

• He did it (Thursday, December 18 25 08:37 pm EST)

  Thanks again Jim. You provided motivation for our new City Manager to relocate. Good work.

• All the Heathers (Thursday, December 18 25 08:11 pm EST)

  We're already # 1 in teen pregnancy, and we haven't let loose all the horny high schoolers on the middle schoolers yet. Woo Hoo! Imagine how high we can get the rate!!
  
  Future Claremont teen parents: please consider naming any daughters in honor of the woman who made their conception possible: Heather!

• Bill (Thursday, December 18 25 03:32 pm EST)

  Leaving school during lunch break, no wonder Sullivan County is leading all other counties in New Hampshire for teen pregnancies.

• Eye Candy (Thursday, December 18 25 08:27 am EST)

  I thought Candy did a good job selling merchandise last night. Maybe she could do QVC when her term is up.
  
  But I agree with the others, the presentation from the admin SUCKED.

• Kennedy's Going For It (Thursday, December 18 25 08:23 am EST)

  Kennedy has to apply to be superintendent. She's been trying to get a super role for years. Remember when she was the last candidate standing in VT and then they still didn't go with her?
  
  If she is interim superintendent, and she doesn't get it, combined with the vermont thing, no other district will touch her with a 10 foot pole.

• Not Not Tom (Thursday, December 18 25 08:19 am EST)

  Not Tom- the search committee is Madden and Petrin. Do you really think those two are going to accomplish anything at all?
  
  They may not be currently planning on keeping Kennedy. But they weren't planning on keeping pratt either.

• Not Tom (Thursday, December 18 25 08:10 am EST)

  Tom,
  I highly doubt that Kennedy is going to apply to be the permanent super. They are talking about a search committee, Dale is leaving CMS at the end of the year. If I was a betting man I would say that Kerry goes back to CMS and we hire a new superintendent from the outside.

• Bill (Thursday, December 18 25 07:22 am EST)

  I know Kennedy and Angell are everyone's current favorite, but the presentation last night sucked! It's clear they don't have a plan and haven't worked out the details of anything.
  
  Different year, same incompetence and lack of planning.

• Lose the Ledger (Thursday, December 18 25 06:23 am EST)

  Look, if you had one shot, one fiduciary duty
  To run a school district without torching the community
  Would you handle it—or let the deficit drip?
  Yo
  
  Pens shaking, math breaking, trust already thin
  Five mil vanished—no explanation, just a spin
  Hire an admin, fire an admin, rotate the chair
  “Interim” in the title like permanence scares
  Buy a building nobody asked for or needs
  Missed deadlines—grant money gone, forms too late
  Millions left on the table, “unfortunate fate”
  Test scores buried, statewide shame
  Exit checks written, accountability paused
  Kids take the hit while the adults get clauses
  
  Snap back to reality—ope, there goes cash flow
  Ope, there goes Bluff School, closed mid-year, pack up, go
  They choked on oversight, nobody owns the blame
  Just pass it down the line—it’s the default game
  No audits since ’16, rot set in deep
  Programs cut fast while the debt gets to keep
  Loans from the bank just to keep lights on
  Sports on the block and the trust is gone
  
  You better lose yourself in the excuses, the moment
  You own it? Nah—you deflect and postpone it
  You only get one shot to mismanage it big
  This crisis comes once in a lifetime, kid
  
  Bluff consolidated, elementaries down to two
  Classrooms packed tighter—tell me something new
  Staff walking out while the answers stall
  “Unforeseen circumstances”—that’s the call
  State’s watching close but won’t take the wheel
  So it’s local control with a very real bill
  Students fall further while leadership slides
  
  So lose yourself in the ballot, the moment
  Show up, speak up—don’t ever postpone it
  You only get one shot—this is how you revoke
  Bad governance doesn’t end if nobody votes

• Tom (Thursday, December 18 25 03:22 am EST)

  Kerry Kennedy is just awful. Instead of being the full-time leader and visionary for the district, she is just telling the Board what she thinks they want to hear, probably to try to get the sup job full time.
  
  We've seen this movie before. She got the job because she was the only option when the Board kicked Pratt's butt to the curb. Right now the Board and Kerry are in the honeymoon phase. The Board thanking her for all the "hard work" she's doing. But if you look at the crap documents going to the Board, and how often she can't answer questions, you know things aren't going well.
  
  In six months or a year when she screws something up, as she is sure to do, the entire board will be out there saying they didn't pick her and she hoodwinked them, and they never wanted her, etc.
  
  The presentation of the budget options was terrible. Nothing was explained in detail. The presentation looked like crap. Obvious questions that were asked, they didn't know the answer to. There was no baseline to current years presented, etc.
  
  Wake up people, we're on the same merry-go-round of incompetence and poor planning, just with a new loser leading the parade.
  
  Jim- You might want to dive deeper into why she left those prior jobs. Are there right-to-knows in Vermont you can use?

• Mad for Madden (Wednesday, December 17 25 09:18 pm EST)

  Madden is right the school board should stop this nonsense about voting on things the same day they are brought up.
  
  He is also right they should have an honor roll.

• Liars (Wednesday, December 17 25 08:38 pm EST)

  School Board: "we can't respond to questions ... unless we want to, then we'll have a full dialog all night"

• Guy (Wednesday, December 17 25 06:27 pm EST)

  Well we now have a permanent city manager that resides in the city. I guess they didn’t violate the charter after all….

• Backstage (Wednesday, December 17 25 05:59 pm EST)

  Backstage ahead of the Claremont School Board Meeting:
  
  Heather Whitney stands before a mirror, vigorously gesturing at herself like a motivational speaker on a caffeine binge. "Coming, Heather, we can make more permanent decisions with far less information than we ever had before!" she declares, convinced that her ability to make confident mistakes is a superpower.
  
  Candy Crawford, meanwhile, is in a state of pure slumber. It's an hour past her bedtime, and her only contribution to the evening is the sound of gentle snoring as she dreams of a world where bedtime is sacred and boundaries are respected.
  
  Mike Petrin is trembling, frozen in sheer terror. The idea of possibly having to speak sends waves of existential dread through him.
  
  Loren Howard is in full panic mode at the thought of numbers. "Please, no one make me do math," he mutters under his breath, clutching a calculator like it's a lifeline in a stormy sea of algebraic horror.
  
  Bill Madden is standing in front of a piece of paper as if it were a sinister, sentient being. "I’m Bill Madden, and no one—no one—is going to make me read anything that doesn't have an executive summary," he vows, imagining himself as a martyr in the war against literacy.
  
  Frank Sprague is strategically positioning himself next to Kennedy, casually mentioning how his daughter would be the perfect hire for whatever position is open.
  
  Arlene Hawkins is holding court with the current teachers, waxing poetic about the “good ol' days” when she single-handedly upheld the education system with chalk, a blackboard, and her personal brand of educational wisdom.

• Matt (Wednesday, December 17 25 02:58 pm EST)

  Or, we could stop pretending that shuffling students around will solve are problems, and roll up our sleeves and have a conversation about the academic instruction. You know, the reason we send our kids to school.

• John J. O’Connor (Wednesday, December 17 25 01:55 pm EST)

  Guy,
  Is there any
  Staff assigned to the doors during lunch time ?
  To my understanding, they rely on the “honor code” which means anyone and everyone has the opportunity to leave the school.
  I’ve seen a 9th grader at McDonald’s with their older (12th grade) sibling , so I know it’s possible.
  Combining the Middle school and then High school is a recipe for disaster.

• Guy (Wednesday, December 17 25 01:38 pm EST)

  John, I am not certain that 9th-12th still get to leave for lunch. I thought at one point it was only 10th-12th and freshman were not allowed to leave? I absolutely do not agree with 7th and 8th grades leaving for lunch and feel the same way about 9th.

• John J. O’Connor (Wednesday, December 17 25 01:06 pm EST)

  If combining the 7th & 8th grades is such a good idea, why wasn’t it implemented before ?
  Will the 7th & 8th graders be separated from the High Schoolers ?
  Will 7th & 8th graders be allowed to leave the building for lunch like the rest of the school and if not, how will you make certain it doesn’t happen?
  Why not combine k-8 at the High school and send 9-12 to the middle school…. That would make more sense.

• Outsider (Wednesday, December 17 25 11:46 am EST)

  Insider- So you've made up your mind without seeing any of the facts or data? You must be a school board member.

• Insider (Wednesday, December 17 25 09:47 am EST)

  I hope they close the other school and merge to only have one elementary and Steven’s. This is the best plan.

• Jill (Wednesday, December 17 25 08:56 am EST)

  School Board meeting tonight. They want to close another elementary school. Time to speak up.

• Curious (Wednesday, December 17 25 05:21 am EST)

  Why do all democratic socialists let their wives have republican bearded masculine boyfriends on the side?

• Jennifer (Tuesday, December 16 25 08:35 pm EST)

  The problem with Heather isn't that she's stupid. It's that she thinks she's a genius when she's not, and then charges ahead with decisions that come back to fuck us over.
  
  Petrin lets just say isn't exactly a rocket scientist either, but at least he knows his limits. He keeps his mouth shut most of the time and only jumps in when it's actually necessary.

• Sarah (Tuesday, December 16 25 07:59 pm EST)

  "I don’t think all the contempt for Heather is fair"
  
  She was in the drivers seat as the car went off the financial cliff.

• John (Tuesday, December 16 25 07:50 pm EST)

  The school board is just lurching from one flashy poorly thought out idea to another, just to make it look like they are doing something.

• Cirre (Tuesday, December 16 25 07:49 pm EST)

  Just saw that a Panera is coming to the city. Does anyone know when it’s opening?

• American Eagle (Tuesday, December 16 25 06:33 pm EST)

  Is Bill Madden really the one who’s going to save us from the rest of the board? All it would take is burying something on page 2 and refuse to give him the executive summary he demands.
  
  I don’t think all the contempt for Heather is fair, but I get where it’s coming from. She’s by far the most active and committed board member, putting in the most time and effort. But she's easily taken in by the administration, and it feels like she’s taken the role to push her right-wing culture war agenda. It's fine if she holds those political views, but until the financial catastrophe happened this year, she’s focused almost exclusively on culture war issues. Those issues sure riled people up, but really didn't have a meaningful impact on the district. And while she was doing that, no one was minding the register, and we got screwed financially.

• District 9 (Tuesday, December 16 25 05:24 pm EST)

  A local website design teacher asks all students to choose one local cities website and recreate it to make it better. 90 percent of the kids in the class year after year choose Claremont’s website because it’s so bad someone with their eyes closed could make it better. It’s sad that our website is this bad.

• Ex boyfriend (Tuesday, December 16 25 04:29 pm EST)

  Only reason herpes exist in the city.

• Nancy (Tuesday, December 16 25 04:26 pm EST)

  Wait…who worked on and designed the city retarded website? It’s retarded looking.

• George M (Tuesday, December 16 25 04:19 pm EST)

  She’s the only reason things get done. Anyone still loving the Rebecca designed website???

• Tony (Tuesday, December 16 25 03:18 pm EST)

  Mary,
  
  Funny you think Amanda can run the office. She can’t even handle herself.

• Joseph Fitch (Tuesday, December 16 25 01:09 pm EST)

  Josiah Abercrombie wrote: "Heather is trying to save whatever’s left of her reputation as someone who might be smart."
  
  I think the horse is long out of the barn on that one.
  
  And that horse is a thousand times smarter than Heather as was.
  
  Really hope Madden steps it up scrutinizing EVERYTHING. Maybe he can help avoid yet another boondoggle. But I wouldn't bet on it.

• Josiah Abercrombie (Tuesday, December 16 25 12:28 pm EST)

  Heather Whitney is trying to save whatever’s left of her reputation as someone who might be smart. But what’s been brought to us has been the school board asleep at the switch and not taking any responsibility other than wild Bill Madden. Madden claimed in one of the meetings that they’ve all failed, but no one else backed him up. It’s really unbelievable asking us to spend $42.9 million again hoping that they’re not gonna mess up and if they do then what they’ll do is ask us to donate more so that the kids can have what’s rightfully there isn’t what we’ve already paid for once. This is damn frustrating and I hope the voters remember all of this in March.

• Former student (Tuesday, December 16 25 11:11 am EST)

  Look at the union reps. The dude did nothing but get high and spread propaganda.

• Greg (Tuesday, December 16 25 10:28 am EST)

  Look at council they disrespected two prominent citizens who died both ex city officials with no moment of silence but they had one for Mayor Dale's mom. Shows how they feel about the rest of us.

• Sarah (Tuesday, December 16 25 07:48 am EST)

  Over 4 million spent on extra money for teachers is insane. Claremont is a poor community. Too many pigs at the public trough if you ask me. Glad Jim Sullivan is exposing this. He seems to the only local official (former) who cares about the average citizens. The rest doesn't care one bit.

• Mary (Tuesday, December 16 25 06:27 am EST)

  Amanda keeps the visitor center together. No one else knows what they are doing. Firing Merrill without a succession plan was retarded beyond belief.

• Unconcerned Parent (Tuesday, December 16 25 01:42 am EST)

  Aren't you all picky. I'm just be glad my middle school daughter will be dating a high schooler and not a middle school teacher.

• Kaylee (Tuesday, December 16 25 01:19 am EST)

  Um hello school board thank you!! Finally some good news!! Moving us middle schoolers to the high school building means I get to see my boyfriend every single day instead of just on weekends. Like no more waiting around forever for him to pick me up after his practice. Also I heard the upperclassmen know where all the good parties are. This is literally the best Christmas present ever. Consolidate harder please!!

• Get Involved (Tuesday, December 16 25 01:05 am EST)

  Given the issues at the middle school right now, I'd be more worried with the middle schoolers corrupting the high schoolers than the other way around. *Get involved parents!!

• More Savings! (Tuesday, December 16 25 12:16 am EST)

  ...and all of the teenage high school fathers will be in jail further reducing the enrollment! Sounds like a plan.

• Aaron (Monday, December 15 25 07:09 pm EST)

  Same we had multiple project managers that aren’t qualified either but we still some how lose them. Last few we have had have been clueless.

• School Board Math (Monday, December 15 25 03:47 pm EST)

  It isn't "we're screwed" its "your middle school daughter is likely to get screwed by high schoolers" with the Board's new plan to mix middle and high school students.
  
  It's all brilliant 3-d chess if you think about it. Think of all of the money they can save taxpayers, when all of those middle school girls drop out pregnant or addicted to drugs a few years early!
  
  Can we please just slow down and do something sensible with parent input?

• Greg (Monday, December 15 25 01:46 pm EST)

  Why can’t we hire qualified people. We have had qualified inspectors in before but none never stay. I dealt with the previous few inspectors very knowledgeable but these two clueless bastards are clueless missing the simplest things.

• We're Screwed (Monday, December 15 25 10:56 am EST)

  "The substance and sex issues are already rampant at CMS."
  
  Great. So no reason not to mix them in with the high schooler, since sex and drug use is already rampant. Got that middle school parents?!?
  
  Where were you "Consolidate!" when those clowns were out there buying more property a few months ago? The reason our tax rate is so high isn't so much the # of schools, or the # of teachers. It's the gross incompetence and mismanagement by the school board and administration.
  
  I'm open to reshuffling the schools, but only after we replace the Board with a new slate that hasn't proven they are incompetent and lost all trust with the city.

• Consolidate! (Monday, December 15 25 10:26 am EST)

  Please - many schools have transitioned successfully to a middle-high school model. The middle schoolers don't intermingle with the high schoolers. The substance and sex issues are already rampant at CMS. It is time to get rid of the old way of thinking where neighborhood schools are necessary. We have these things, they are big and yellow, that can get kids from anywhere in town to anywhere else in town. The tax payers are dead in the water with our current situation and if we can close another building or two I am all for it. Cut the fat, lose some staff, and start showing the residents that we are serious and are willing to make the hard decisions for the good of the community at large. I can't wait for the sob stories and the crocodile tears from the teachers on Wednesday who will continue to use the kids as pawns for their personal gain.

• Five Alarm Warning (Monday, December 15 25 06:52 am EST)

  Don't let all of the personal stuff and name calling distract you from the main event this week.
  
  School consolidation is back on the table for the school board this week. Wednesday. Right before Christmas so no one is paying attention.
  
  If the Board gets its way, we'll be down another school or two. The middle schoolers will be at the high school.
  
  That's exactly what we need. Middle schoolers getting exposed to drugs even earlier, and having sex with thigh schoolers.
  
  The "cut taxes no matter what" group has control, and they don't give a shit about your kids.
  
  You know what would save more money than closing one of the schools? Not paying all of the lawyers and consultants for damage control over the mess the school board has made.
  
  You have been warned. Show up on Wednesday and speak up.

• Kim (Monday, December 15 25 02:05 am EST)

  Middleton, Tempesta, Pratt, that HR dude, Henry, etc. All hired and then fired by the Board. At some point it isn't the Board being taken in by the administration but the Board's own fault. And that point was long ago.
  
  But if you listen to them, its never their fault. Not one bit of remorse from the whole lot of them.

• Rodney (Monday, December 15 25 01:13 am EST)

  Let's stop arguing. School board and school administrators why not just resign and let someone else have a try of it? Even you have to admit you have made a very big mess of everything that will take years to recover from.

• Idea Many (Sunday, December 14 25 11:04 pm EST)

  Why doesn't the board just require the admin to publish all expense monthly and let the public sort through them if they are unwilling to do their job themself, and unwilling to require audits?

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 14 25 09:32 pm EST)

  Everyone please bear in mind that the Stipend Report that I have is only for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025). This was when Christopher Pratt was the Superintendent of Schools & Mary Henry was the Business Administrator. Pratt would have authorized those Stipends and Henry would have cut the checks. Remember, this was when the SAU #6 Officials at that time all knew that the Claremont School District was in the throes of a multi-million-dollar Budget Deficit and they all intentionally hid that fact from the Claremont School Board & the public and continued the reckless spending by buying a building and paying out $4,414,987.48 in Stipends, ($3,008,970.90 of which was paid to Anonymous Recipients according to this Stipends Spreadsheet).

• Henry (Sunday, December 14 25 09:23 pm EST)

  Sir,
  I think we are in agreement that the current school board is culpable. I think Chris Prat may have done a naughty with a personal stipend. All, I'm putting out their is that I think it runs deeper than the recent administration. The board was asleep, and lulled into a position of apathy by the smooth talking outsider from Massachusetts. I'm fairly certain it was Richard who set up the 38 accounts. The board is responsible for hiring Tempesta when they had a perfectly suitable LOCAL candidate in Cory Leclair. Blame Mr. Sprauge for that whole mess! Cory was doing the audits, Tempesta stopped them. Look at the timeline. The books went south, covid happened...miss management of moneys. Then those responsible rode off into the sunset. Chris and Mary came in and tried to ride the wave until they discovered they couldn't.

• Henry Response (Sunday, December 14 25 08:52 pm EST)

  Henry-
  
  Those are fair things to look into. But do you think Tempesta or Seaman was the one who set up Pratt's stipend and kept it a secret? Or do you think maybe Pratt might have had something to do with that?
  
  And what about he school board? They could have demanded Audits, or even just asked for a list of all non-salary payments to employees.
  
  These Board members were all too busy fighting over $100 line items and fighting culture war issues, to even look at the finances.

• Henry (Sunday, December 14 25 08:36 pm EST)

  Jim, Before you blast all that info over the internet, you need to really make sure you're right. Those stipends could just be Department Chair stipends which is normal. Also, if their IS money mismanagement (and I agree it looks fishy), you should look to Business Manager Richard Seaman, and Supt Michael Tempesta. The mismanagement clearly started with them! The audits stopped when Tempesta was brought in and soon after he hired Richard (Married to Lissa Draper btw). Not defending Chris Pratt, but he was only at the helm a short time. Tempesta is the one who mismanaged everything!

• Max Responsibility (Sunday, December 14 25 08:17 pm EST)

  You can delegate authority but not responsibility. The city manager should be out there make sure shit gets done.
  
  And same the school board. The only thing they are good at is coming up with excuses why the mess is someone else's fault. It's not the fault of the morons you hired, it's your fault.

• Max Stupidity (Sunday, December 14 25 07:58 pm EST)

  Max- it's called a "service level agreement". the city contracts with a private firm to run the place. Fine. But then the city should have timelines in the agreement for when things need to happen or be repaired. And the contract should make it very painful for them if they don't do things on time. The city manager should be there with a stopwatch when something breaks making sure it happens on time, and we get every penny of financial penalty if they don't have it done on time.
  
  
  Did our city leaders do that? I'm sure we just pay them, and if they screw up or don't do anything on time, the city suffers no skin of the private company's back.
  
  Maybe we give them a stipend on top of their contract for not doing anything, like the schools do.

• Max (Sunday, December 14 25 07:39 pm EST)

  @Jim Sullivan
  Yes, the city pays for repairs to that loader. But you were claiming the Manager / DPW Directors were incompetent in taking too long to have a “simple transmission repair” performed. However, I’m saying that the private company is the one that arranged for the repairs using the city’s money. It’s not the city manager or public works people’s fault that parts to repair the transmission were back ordered and the shop couldn’t begin repairs in a timely manner.

• Gary (Sunday, December 14 25 06:55 pm EST)

  Todd, you and your loud mouth wife always swing and miss don't you. You think Nicky gives a shit about Jim or the mention then you really must have shit for brains. There are only 2 Todd's I am aware of that both fit the category. Abbey and Curtis. Both do nothing fat sacks of shit that just run their mouths. Try to do something for others this holiday season besides taking others air supply.

• Heather is the problem (Sunday, December 14 25 06:11 pm EST)

  WRONG! Heather Whitney is a republican and sat there as chair and let the current mess happen.
  
  Who routinely votes to seal meeting minutes to keep them from the public? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who voted for all the massive severance giveaways to the corrupt admins? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who was on the Board when Prat was appointed? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who was on the Board when when Mary Henry was appointed despite the lawsuit against her for misusing funds at a prior employer? Heather Whitney.
  
  Who didn't require regular Audits for years? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who didn't review payments going out? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who was on the board when the stipends were being paid out and the public wasn't told? Heather Whitney!
  
  Who has spent hundreds of thousands on lawyers and consultants instead of the students? Heather Whitney!
  
  We don't have a socialist problem. We have a Heather F'ing Whitney problem.

• Make Claremont Great Again (Sunday, December 14 25 05:53 pm EST)

  Socialism is robbery
  Democratic socialism is making the political elite rich and everyone else poor

• Frank Perry (Sunday, December 14 25 05:51 pm EST)

  When you analyze the voting registration against the list of stipends you’ll see the radical democratic socialists get all the $$. They love love love to rob their neighbors and spend it on themselves.

• Insider (Sunday, December 14 25 05:45 pm EST)

  Keep an eye on old Mchugh. Took the job for the health insurance. No experience inspecting food, no construction knowledge

• Reading Reader (Sunday, December 14 25 04:46 pm EST)

  "Reader" - what % of its back taxes did Walmart or Claremont Savings Bank get forgiven? Has Claremont SB or Walmart been designated as a Brownfield site? I bet they would clean it up if it was.
  
  I'll say two nice things about Nick. The toys for kids is really nice. No matter what he does, he'll never be as bad for the community as the School Board. Maybe he could get on the Board and then help make those deficits "disappear".

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 14 25 04:37 pm EST)

  Max, the City owns the Wastewater Treatment Plant facility and is responsible for all physical repairs to the building as well as repairs to the equipment. All the company does is manage the day-to-day operations of the facility. So those costs that Bates talked about will have to come out of the Ratepayers.

• They need a kick in the pants (Sunday, December 14 25 04:28 pm EST)

  I love it when Heather tries to write off all the problems saying they don't know what they are doing. Maybe the first true thing out of her mouth. If you don't know what you're doing RESIGN.
  
  I'm not interested in figuring out how much is incompetence and how much corruption. We don't have enough time or money to waste on that.
  
  All these clowns on the school board NEED TO GO.
  
  We're in a deficit. Students can't pass tests. The administration is robbing us blind with all these stipends. But let's have Sprague up there lecturing us about if Claremont is a town or a city, and heather going on tangent after tangent about her personal life.

• Max (Sunday, December 14 25 04:19 pm EST)

  Mr Sullivan,
  
  Rather than spew pure conjecture and speculation, did it ever occur to you the repairs to the sewer plant loader transmission were delayed because its a 20+ year old machine and between sourcing hard to find parts and scheduling shop time with a busy repair company, it simply took longer than expected? That perhaps it had zero to do with “incompetence” at all? And if you did appropriate research, you should know the sewer plant is run by a private company; the city merely owns the facility and provides budget to maintain the facilities and equipment. Thus, the scheduling of this repair didn’t even fall to municipal staff at all, but rather the private company that runs the sewer plant! You really should step back and take a deep breath.

• John (Sunday, December 14 25 04:10 pm EST)

  Everyone in Claremont has been swindled by the SAU staffers and the school board members let it happen. Handing out over $4 million in stipends above regular pay for favorite staffers in the school district is wrong on so many levels. We are a poor community and all these people were cashing in at our expense without our knowing about it. Jim thank you for exposing this. I am curious to see who cashed in at our expense. Almost $3.60 on the tax rate is a lot of money to waste on stipends. These people don't care. The students are not getting a good education the test scores show that. We are paying too much in taxes now and there is a deficit that is a little higher than what was doled out in stipends. I think Mr. Angell is right and we are seeing fraud here. Those responsible need to be prosecuted and maybe some of the money can be recovered. Every school board member needs to be thrown out of office. No exceptions.

• Vote out the School Board, NOW!!! (Sunday, December 14 25 03:41 pm EST)

  Just vote every f#$@ing one of them out. Every f#$@ing one.
  
  Madden doesn't want to read. Howard can't to do math. And you wonder why the test scores are in the toilet.
  
  The rest have been around for years letting this shit happen. All they had to do was ask to see a list of all checks going out and they would have caught STIPEND-gate right away. But instead they just want to talk for hours about nothing at these meetings. Man do those f$#$ers like to listen to themselves talk. They talk until the TV cuts out.
  
  Each and every one needs to go.

• TEAM PUBLIC (Sunday, December 14 25 03:33 pm EST)

  School board members Howard and Madden are newcomers this year, so I’m willing to cut them a bit of slack for now.
  
  But (all of you) seriously, WAKE UP. As soon as issues arise, the community deserves to know what’s going on. Sure, some details might be confidential, but if you can release info through right-to-know requests, then what’s the holdup? Instead of being transparent, you’re speaking in riddles while Jim and the public has to chase after documents with right to knows and piece things what you could have told the entire city in 5 minutes. Truly disgraceful.
  
  School Board, we know you’re reading this. How about stepping up at the next meeting and actually sharing what you know? Here’s the standard: if there’s information out there that the public has a right to access, and you know it would be of interest to us, STOP HIDING IT. Just present it when you know at the first meeting it comes up at.
  
  All we need is for one of you to move over to "TEAM PUBLIC" and start asking questions when this shit is going down at every meeting.

• Emily (Sunday, December 14 25 03:18 pm EST)

  The board members of the school district continue to take advantage of us by not doing their job to represent us. Almost $4.5 million just for stipends. Jim is right that could have just about wiped out the whole deficit that was caused by the school board members not doing their jobs watching over the public's money. They all have to go no exceptions and it's time to stop the stipends.

• Todd (Sunday, December 14 25 03:14 pm EST)

  Aw Nick Koloski is upset that you mentioned the Topstone scandal again. Too bad this was a huge ripoff of the people.

• Reader (Sunday, December 14 25 02:52 pm EST)

  Jim,
  
  You might be taken more seriously if you stopped recycling the same rhetoric that has gone nowhere for the last ten years. Repeating it doesn’t make it true, and it hasn’t produced results.
  
  You routinely encourage property owners to seek tax abatements. The owners of that building did exactly that yet you now single them out as if they acted improperly. If the policy applies to everyone, it should apply to them as well.
  
  Claremont Savings Bank, Walmart, and the mill buildings on Water Street have all received abatements. Those facts are conveniently left out, which makes the argument feel selective rather than principled.
  
  If the goal is accountability, then stick to the facts and apply the same standard across the board. Selective outrage and personal fixation don’t move the city forward

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 14 25 02:22 pm EST)

  Three new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) Special Report! The Claremont School District Stipend Scandal! Part #1
  
  2) December 10, 2025 Claremont City Council Meeting Synopsis
  
  3) Does this new City of Claremont hire look like a Deputy Building Inspector and Health Officer to you?

• Ready to go! (Sunday, December 14 25 08:51 am EST)

  I got my morning coffee, but no exposé !
  
  Waiting to find out if the school board is corrupt. OK, we already know. But still want the details.

• Think about it (Sunday, December 14 25 04:24 am EST)

  Thank God the school board is both corrupt and incompetent. It means that every now and then they should screw up screwing us over, and do something in the public's interest.

• Mr retard (Saturday, December 13 25 07:14 pm EST)

  Our special school board is right

• Beware of the Bull (Saturday, December 13 25 02:48 pm EST)

  Just remember that we're here with the stipends and the no sports funding and all of the other crap bankrupting the district because of one person:
  
  Heather Whitney
  
  If she spent half the amount of time looking at the school's finances as she does spewing her bullshit at meetings she would have spotted the problems. I bet the Hathaways (even as disgusting they are) are glad she changed her name. Also bet that POS used car salesman she's screwing (not her kids father!) is also glad she doesn't use his name.
  
  How hard is it to ask for an audit? Or at least look at a list of checks going out the door.

• Bunny (Saturday, December 13 25 11:45 am EST)

  Thank you Jim. Thank you. These scum bags that take stipends are just gaming money off the kids and putting it in their own pocket. Every and I mean EVERY name and dollar should be fully invested. Every bean should be counted and counted twice.

• Jim Sullivan (Saturday, December 13 25 07:44 am EST)

  The Stipends paid to the Claremont School District Employees in Fiscal Year 2025 is a monumental scandal, which I will prove with Part #1 of a multi-part series of articles that will be published tomorrow as I have obtained the irrefutable documented proof! One thing I want to make perfectly clear, many of the Stipends paid to School Employees were probably legitimate but that will be for a forensic auditor to decide. Make no mistake, this exposé detailing information that I have uncovered will blow your mind as it did mine! I am working on the first article today so I will be not offering any more details until tomorrow when that article is published. Till then.

• Auntie Watchman (Saturday, December 13 25 07:14 am EST)

  Look at all the big stipends the liberals in the school system got. Some get paid then leave the district to do the same in another state. The liberals love your money…money piggies…oink oink

• Our "special" school board (Saturday, December 13 25 03:07 am EST)

  You all are being too mean to the school board. The school board is supposed to represent the school population. So it needs a large quota of retards. And it sure does have them.

• Public Notice (Friday, December 12 25 10:24 pm EST)

  ***School Consolidation on Agenda for Wednesday, December 17***
  
  Oh joy, another brilliant consolidation plan. Based on our stellar track record, the strategy will no doubt be as follows. First, sell off perfectly good, purpose built school buildings with actual parking and infrastructure designed for schools. Then spend even more money on a small, unsuitable building that was never meant to be a school, followed by a costly gut and full refurbishment.
  
  And because nothing says fiscal responsibility like unnecessary extras, we will be sure to throw large amounts of taxpayer money at consultants and lawyers all along the way. What could possibly go wrong. Can’t wait.

• Damn Straight (Friday, December 12 25 09:23 pm EST)

  Damn straight. Somehow there’s never any money for students or teachers. But there’s always money for lawyers to do damage control or jobs for school board family members.

• Crazy (Friday, December 12 25 09:14 pm EST)

  The school district is broke, but don’t worry. They hired two consultants and three lawyers to explain why it’s broke.

• Pitty (Friday, December 12 25 08:39 pm EST)

  How embarrassed Willard Hathaway would be if he was alive today! First there was son who went to court so he could play with cannons in his back yard. Then there is Marc, the disgraced county attorney, who never met a pervert or murdering drunk driver he didn't want to cut a sweetheart deal with. Now there is dumber than rocks Heather who has pushed the entire school district to the edge of bankruptcy. At least she changed her last name so its less obvious she is his daughter.

• Cliff's Notes (Friday, December 12 25 08:02 pm EST)

  How Each Claremont School Board Member Missed the Disaster
  
  Candace Crawford — was asleep. Dozed off mid-meeting before the budget red flags could wake her up.
  
  Arlene Hawkins — Too polite. Spotted the problem early but didn't want to ruffle feathers by mentioning it.
  
  Loren Howard — Can't do math; couldn't crunch the numbers. Remember when he admitted he couldn't do math at a meeting?
  
  William Madden — Can't read. Only thing he ever insisted on was that there be executive summaries too all documents he is given. Because he ... can't read.
  
  Michael Petrin — Too timid. Knew about the crisis but was too scared to pipe up and spoil the vibe.
  
  Frank Sprague — Too corrupt. He was too busy hooking up family members with jobs to notice the impending doom.
  
  Heather Whitney — Too busy running her mouth. Was too busy rambling on too let anyone tell her there was a problem.

• Jim Z. (Friday, December 12 25 06:32 pm EST)

  Marked safe from giving away free fire hydrants to follow developers today. How about you all?

• Disgrace (Friday, December 12 25 05:17 pm EST)

  They should all resign in shame the entire board not only for not catching but how bad they handled the entire thing with all the idiot attorneys who are ripping us daily

• Jan (Friday, December 12 25 02:17 pm EST)

  That's not the only disease named after her. There's also Heather-Whiney-Itis. Its an unexplained condition where you think you're fine one day. Then wake up the next with $5 million of debt. And no one can explain what happened.

• Jannet (Friday, December 12 25 01:59 am EST)

  Her name is Heather Whitney. Real piece of work. She has a medical condition named after her. Have you ever seen a woman who's face just looks pissed off all the time? The scientific term for that is RHWF or resting Heather Whitney face.

• Abby (Thursday, December 11 25 07:42 pm EST)

  Whats the deal with that woman who runs the school board? Very snooty and stuck up.

• Insider (Thursday, December 11 25 06:04 pm EST)

  We know you need Sully to spell things out for you but, let me use deductive reasoning. It would seem little Jimmy is asleep at the keyboard.
  
  1. The acting manager shows up and takes her seat at the last televised planning board meeting. A seat held by a city manager with a residency requirement according to State Law.
  
  2. The council has held 2 non public meetings under personnel.
  
  3. Elected officials are on it.
  
  Thanks for paying attention.

• Guy (Thursday, December 11 25 05:06 pm EST)

  The acting city manager was appointed June 24, 2025 and was appointed for 1 year. Its been close to 6 months now. Some say the charter states the council can only appoint an acting manager for maximum of 180 days. I guess we will see in a few days how this will play out...

• Gary Sullivan (Thursday, December 11 25 04:43 pm EST)

  I got a free fire hydrant was I supposed to pay for it?

• Insider (Thursday, December 11 25 02:25 pm EST)

  I bet magically there will be no emails about free fire hydrants given out to local developers. You have to love the good old boy network. Planning office ain't playing around boys.

• John J. O’Connor (Thursday, December 11 25 01:49 pm EST)

  Guy,
  Isn’t the clock ticking on that ?

• Guy (Thursday, December 11 25 11:55 am EST)

  John, we don't actually have a city manager currently, so that law does not apply. We have an acting city manager at this time.

• Anon (Thursday, December 11 25 10:14 am EST)

  John: it's just a law they passed. laws rarely have stopped the city (or schools) from doing whatever they want.

• John J. O’Connor (Thursday, December 11 25 10:10 am EST)

  Did the City Manager move to Claremont or is the City actively looking for a new City Manager ?

• Fester Reply (Thursday, December 11 25 12:42 am EST)

  The player should adjust the resolution to allow you to watch it on the website even with a slower connection. If that doesn't work, try contacting them at: ClaremonTV8@gmail.com
  they might have a fix.
  
  Everyone should tune in to watch whats going on locally and then vote.

• Fester (Wednesday, December 10 25 10:51 pm EST)

  If you don’t have high speed internet and only have satellite TV how do you watch CCTV? I think you can still get WMUR with an antenna maybe? Can you get cctv with an antenna too or Maybe a radio station.

• Pro CCTV (Wednesday, December 10 25 08:29 pm EST)

  I hate the thing I'm watching go off line just as much as the next person. But come on, CCTV is a great resource.
  
  I hope anyone from CCTV realizes that this is really a compliment in disguise about have valuable the channel is.
  
  Of course, please do try to fix it.

• Water Street (Wednesday, December 10 25 07:53 pm EST)

  And yet again the live city broadcast has gone out. Why do we pay to keep CCTV running if it never works? Someone can do a better job themselves by live streaming it themselves on twitch, YouTube or something. Absolutely insane that this keeps happening. You can create a YouTube channel in 5 minutes or less and best of all it’s free.

• We're screwed, people (Tuesday, December 09 25 05:14 am EST)

  I've been out of this for years. I read the comments and got depressed about Claremont's future. I can't really be that bad, I think.
  
  Then I read the "News Flashes". Wow- are we screwed! How do our children have any chance when our school board is dumber than dog poo?
  
  How hard is it to get an audit? How hard is it to get monthly cashflow statements? How hard is it to not hire people who screwed up royally at their prior work?
  
  The entire board should resign in disgrace! Yet, the one scumbag with enough shame to resign, they reappointed weeks later because he asks them to.
  
  We're circling the drain folks. If we don't do something we're going down.

• Seriously, Kenny? (Monday, December 08 25 09:43 pm EST)

  Not saying sports are bad. But a star student easily gets a good scholarship to college, and set up for a life with a high-paying job. Hows that for some fucking hope.
  
  The average or star athlete at Stevens isn't getting an athletic scholarship anywhere. Most schools stevens students go to, when they go to college, dont give out athletics scholarships. In the rare case they get an athletic scholarship that's not going to get them a job down the road. Go back and look at the state champ teams from 50 years ago in Claremont. Sure its a great memory, but not a lot else.
  
  With that kind of dumb ass thinking, I half suspect youre s school board member

• Kenny (Monday, December 08 25 08:17 pm EST)

  Sports give kids hope. You’re a moron. I seen so many kids saved by sport

• More Claremont Parents (Monday, December 08 25 04:33 pm EST)

  Typical Claremont Parent. Academics is what lifts kids up and gets them jobs that will provide for their future. Not sports.
  
  Of course, the School Board doesn't give two shits about either. Let's give all the districts money to Jim O'Shaughnessy to play on his phone in meetings and to provide info that can be easily found on Google.

• Claremont Parents (Monday, December 08 25 04:11 pm EST)

  We will pay anything for sports. Sports save kids. Nothing is more important.

• Tea Party (Monday, December 08 25 05:05 am EST)

  You already paid for the sport programs, they just cut it and made you pay for it again. Claremonters are just to stupid to figure it out, and sports mean more than anything else.

• When will they stop? (Sunday, December 07 25 10:40 pm EST)

  The waste of money on attorneys is astonishing.
  They closed Bluff Elementary to save $60k.
  They eliminated all sports programs and told students to support themselves.
  They seriously considered cutting computer science for early grades over a mere $3k shortfall.
  Yet somehow, they found $500k to spend on lawyers.
  
  This appears to be Frank Sprague and Heather Whitney’s vision for the district: nothing for teachers, nothing for students. Don't give a crap about test scores. All available money goes to attorneys and communications consultants. The only exception is an ironclad job for Frank Sprague’s wife.

• Rick (Sunday, December 07 25 10:35 pm EST)

  Yes, in comparison with the total number of occupied spaces it truly paints a financial picture says nobody in business ever.
  
  Good job Betty googling Claremont NH commercial properties for lease and for standing in front of 1 building Downtown. Really is the Lords work.

• Kevin (Sunday, December 07 25 09:27 pm EST)

  Claremont is really a failing city if we have this many retail spaces available for rent with no interest.
  
  
  Look what the wise women Betty Blanchard posted on Facebook.
  
  “Retail Spaces For Rent in Claremont as of 12/07/25.
  
  
  
  I’ve seen a few posts about what is available for retail spaces in Claremont, so I decided to compile a master list.
  
  
  
  84 Pleasant St: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/84-Pleasant-St-Claremont-NH/37346577/
  
  
  
  
  Stowell Block 14-20 Pleasant St: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/14-20-Pleasant-St-Claremont-NH/28730233/
  
  
  
  
  216 Washington St (3 spaces available): https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/216-Washington-St-Claremont-NH/20506646/
  
  
  
  
  16 Tremont Street (Kit 'N Kaboodle Store For Sale): https://www.thecblife.com/property/16-tremont-street-claremont-nh-03743/95110255/
  
  
  
  
  65 Pleasant Street: https://www.thecblife.com/property/65-pleasant-street-claremont-nh-03743/93869866/
  
  
  
  
  174 Washington Street: https://www.thecblife.com/property/174-washington-street-claremont-nh-03743/90336686/
  
  
  
  
  11 Dunning Street (optometry business for sale): https://www.thecblife.com/property/11-dunning-street-claremont-nh-03743/89972839/
  
  
  
  
  1 Pleasant Street (Large Historic Retail Space): https://www.thecblife.com/property/1-pleasant-street-claremont-nh-03743/77943729/
  
  
  
  
  148 Charlestown Road: https://www.thecblife.com/property/148-charlestown-road-claremont-nh-03743/5652169/
  
  
  
  
  19 Pleasant Street (Entire Historic Building For Sale): https://www.thecblife.com/property/19-pleasant-street-claremont-nh-03743/5381697/
  
  
  
  
  12 Plains Road (Restaurant/Former Bike Shop): https://www.thecblife.com/property/12-plains-road-claremont-nh-03743/5652055/
  
  
  
  
  152 Washington Street: https://www.thecblife.com/property/152-washington-street-claremont-nh-03743/5650682/
  
  
  
  
  10 Glidden Street (Will Rent to Bakery/Cafe): Please email firstcongregationalchurch@myfairpoint.net if interested in renting the location.
  
  
  
  
  73 Pleasant St (Former Rite Aid): https://www.crexi.com/lease/properties/986132/new-hampshire-freestanding-rite-aid
  
  
  
  
  345 Washington St (5 spaces available): https://www.dsmrealty.net/property/claremont-market-place/
  
  
  
  
  Former Candy Store, Arcade, and Video Game Store is for Rent: Contact number posted on the store.
  
  
  
  
  The former Changes Thrift store is for rent: Contact number posted on the store.
  
  
  
  
  The former War Room is for rent: Contact number posted on the store.
  
  
  
  
  Reed’s current location will be for rent soon: Reed's is moving next to the Tumble Inn Diner (no rental contact info posted yet).
  
  
  
  
  I’m sure I missed some, but this is all I could find easily.“

• Fake and gray (Sunday, December 07 25 07:08 pm EST)

  Oh, Partick, bless your copy-paste heart—did you raid the Grok AI archives for that novel-length fanfic defending the indefensible? It’s cute how you wave around “facts” like NHPR citations while ignoring the dumpster fire Francis just lit: an entire department plotting a synchronized bathroom break in 2026, complete with passive-aggressive lesson-plan Post-its. “Thanks for the notes, rats—enjoy your Lebanon signing bonuses while our kids finger-paint with crayons made from shredded budgets.” If this is the “rebuttal” shutting down hysteria, it’s about as effective as Superintendent Otis’s grant-tracking app—glitchy, outdated, and screaming “embezzlement cover-up.” Francis, spill the tea: Which department’s bailing first, the ones teaching kids to read or the ones pretending our schools aren’t circling the drain? Either way, Concord’s neglect + local clownery = mass exodus bingo. Wake up, sheeple—before the only thing left standing is Sullivan’s echo chamber and your tears. Mic drop.

• William (Sunday, December 07 25 06:28 pm EST)

  I just read today’s articles. Look at all the things that Jim reported today that we would never have known about. No documents for the middle school about structural repairs needed for the building where our kids go to school. Jim got proof from an email written by the SAU business administrator. A new director of special ed hired by the interim superintendent and this person does not have the certification to be a special ed director. Jim got the proof by looking it up on a database from the state and taking screen grabs of the information and putting them in his article. All the lawyer bills that are bleeding the school district dry and Jim shows the proof by including the bills in his article. I could go on but you get the idea Jim writes the truth and shows us the truth. These nameless people that write on the forum are just throwing shade to try to discredit Jim because he is doing investigative journalism and they can’t stand the heat.

• Gary (Sunday, December 07 25 06:01 pm EST)

  A new tactic is being tried. Discrediting articles while they are still being published. A new low for local officials afraid of transparency. Jim Sullivan reports the truth and backs it up with facts showing the government documents proving his articles are true.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, December 07 25 05:56 pm EST)

  Five new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) Claremont School District Legal Bill still skyrocketing. New revelations regarding school finances.
  
  2) Is the Claremont Middle School safe for Students & Staff?
  
  3) December 3, 2025 Claremont School Board Meeting Synopsis.
  
  4) NH Journal continues their in-depth coverage of the Claremont School District Financial Debacle.
  
  5) Claremont Schools are a disaster; School Officials are withholding secrets!

• Analyze it (Sunday, December 07 25 05:42 pm EST)

  Language patterns reveal a conversational, aggrieved echo chamber, blending factual jargon with emotional barbs—suggesting cross-pollination where forum rants inform journalism and vice versa.
  • Repeated Phrases and Jargon: “Abrupt resignation” or “midyear exit” appears verbatim in Adrian’s work and Sullivan posts (e.g., Chastenay coverage), while Reddit uses “financial crisis” and “budget woes” mirroring Adrian’s headlines like “Claremont School District budget woes prompt GOP calls.”   Ed-specific terms like “Odysseyware” (online platform), “attrition,” and “contractual obligations” pop up in forums and Adrian’s 2021 grading policy piece.  Broader motifs: “Sinking ship” (Sullivan: teacher quits as abandonment; Reddit: district in “limbo”).  
  • Tone and Rhetoric: All lean cynical/frustrated, but differentiated: Reddit mixes explanatory outrage (“NH’s fault… symptom”) with calls to action (e.g., lawsuits).  Sullivan amps sarcasm (“smoldering pile of shit” for officials) and raw anger (“screwing honors students”).  Adrian maintains journalistic restraint (“struggling to pay critical bills”) but echoes forum urgency, e.g., quoting “outraged” parents in school board votes.  Overlaps suggest journalists like Adrian draw from forums—his pieces often cite or link Sullivan, implying a feedback loop.
  This linguistic bleed fosters a narrative of “toxic negativity” (a Sullivan self-critique), where phrases like “deprofessionalized teaching” (forums) evolve into Adrian’s retention analyses.

• Partick (Sunday, December 07 25 05:35 pm EST)

  Facts for Jim and a complete rebuttal argument that will shut him down completely.
  The Sullivan Report’s so-called “News Flashes” from December 7, 2025, aren’t journalism—they’re a desperate grab for clicks masquerading as exposé, peddling anonymous whispers and half-baked hysteria that crumbles under the slightest scrutiny from actual reporting across the web, like the Valley News and New Hampshire Bulletin, which have chronicled Claremont’s real $5.1 million school deficit as a toxic brew of decades-long state underfunding (NH ranks dead last in per-pupil spending at just 20% state share versus the national 47%, per InDepthNH.org’s October 2025 analysis) and sloppy local accounting errors flagged in state audits since 2022, not some shadowy “ghost grant” vanishing into Superintendent Otis’s pockets as your leak-monger flash alleges without a shred of evidence—contrast that with the NH Journal’s September 2025 piece detailing how federal ESSER funds were simply clawed back for compliance failures, not fraud, and ongoing forensic audits (kicked off November 5 per Vermont Journal) are already tracing every dime without FBI fanfare. Your “emergency SAU meeting” on teacher walkouts? Pure fiction—NHPR and WMUR coverage through November shows no strikes or threats, just 25 painful layoffs in a district that’s axed 50+ positions amid 8% enrollment drops (NH DOE stats), with unions negotiating concessions that saved $300K on premiums, not “stonewalling” bonuses as you spin it. The tax override “rejoice” flash gloats over a phantom 4-3 council no-vote on a 2.5% hike that never happened—Union Leader’s June 2025 budget wrap-up notes a 6-cent rate dip to $10.81 per $1,000, thanks to efficiencies like $150K energy audits, while HB 366’s November passage unlocked $1.2M in early adequacy aid to avert the very cuts you warn of, per Bulletin reports. That “20-parent” Stevens High protest against online classes? Overhyped drivel—Reddit threads and Facebook groups from August emergency meetings at the school tallied hundreds in constructive forums, not your “outraged moms” sidewalk tantrum, and SAU data boasts 92% hybrid completion rates boosting access for honors kids hit by the crunch, as Granite Post News detailed in September. Worst, your historic funds “cronyism” audit hint is a slanderous nothingburger—no Valley News or city clerk logs mention $150K diversions to the mayor’s pals; instead, preliminary 2025 city audits (ClaremontNH.com) praise ordinance tweaks saving $20K on bids, while the real probe targets school stipends, not preservation pots. Sullivan Report, your anonymous forum rants (echoing Reddit’s “Claremont’s falling apart” despair) aren’t watchdogging—they’re fearmongering a community already gutted by Concord’s neglect, shaming real outlets like NHPR that amplify facts over forum bile; step up or shut up, before your “flashes” flicker out as the unreliable echo chamber they are.

• Francis (Sunday, December 07 25 02:35 pm EST)

  Little does the SAU 6 know is that their is a whole teacher subject department in the high school that plans on quitting all at once early next year. Leaving no teachers in the department.
  
  They have all agreed to leave notes behind like Chastenay did so the school knows where the class left off. 2026 will bring mass quittings to the high school. I’m unsure about the other schools but one can only assume the same will happen there.

• Don't mind me (Sunday, December 07 25 06:15 am EST)

  Your kids' teachers are quitting because teaching has been rapidly deprofessionalized and degraded as a career. In fact, teaching is no longer a viable long-term career in our current educational ecosystem. Good teachers are leaving the profession left and right because they're expected to be everything for everyone. The skillset for teaching is transferable to about any field, and most fields pay far better and you don't have as much "homework".

• This just in...... (Saturday, December 06 25 01:56 pm EST)

  Reporter holds microphone up to a smoldering pile of shit for 20 minutes before realizing it wasn't Mike Tetu.

• Parent (Friday, December 05 25 05:49 pm EST)

  Why did my son’s teacher quit? She was a great teacher. I do remember the school giving her limited resources to teach kids and increased her class size.
  
  I wonder if that had something to do with it? Great teacher in an awful school. I also remember my son saying Lebanon and other school districts were trying to poach some Claremont teachers for 5-10 thousand dollars more per year and full benefits.

• Vivian (Friday, December 05 25 09:58 am EST)

  Dick heads of struggling city chirping, “Everything sucks!” is robbing that community of the chance to actually get better.
  
  Okay, Ignoring problems is a terrific way to guarantee you never solve a single one, but making everything a conspiracy or something sinister is just toxic.
  
  Communities get stuck in their own mythology. You hear the same lines on repeat: “We’re on the upswing.” “We’re almost there.” “We’ve reached a tipping point.” It’s the municipal equivalent of telling yourself you’re about to start going to the gym. I get the optimism, because we need it.
  Here’s the truth: plenty of communities aren’t on the upswing. Plenty won’t have a better tomorrow unless they do something radically different today. The path forward always begins with work. (Not Jim's version of a problem with Nick)
  I applaud the leaders who admit something’s wrong. The ones willing to hear the uncomfortable stuff and the openness to taking risks in finding solutions. I also applaud them for seeing through the BS brought in font of them.
  
  Anyone can rant on Facebook or SULLYS forum's. Very few have the spine to say, “Yeah, this isn’t working, I can do something to help and they actually try to achieve something.” I see some of our council trying & putting in work.
  Claremont doesn’t need another naysayer, or armchair, watchdog quarterbacks it needs citizens who belive, take pride and physically do something positive.

• Dale sees it (Friday, December 05 25 09:18 am EST)

  Most cities have been sliding for decades, and anyone expecting a quick fix is basically wishing on a shooting star. The good news is you don’t have to fix everything. You just have to move things in the right direction. Improvement isn’t about miracles, it’s about momentum. Worry less about the finish line and more about showing up every day and doing the work.
  
  We all know the truth in our own lives. There’s no magic pill for weight loss, no secret trick for getting rich, no shortcut to more friends. You stop doing what hurts you and start doing what helps you. Eat better, exercise more. Spend less, earn more. Get off the couch, go meet people. It’s not glamorous, but it works every single time.
  
  Claremont's no different. It's just the sum of It's physical parts, buildings, sidewalks, benches, streets. Strip all that away and you’ve got a field. Improve those pieces one by one and the whole place improves. There is no other formula.
  
  The best part? When a community stops declining and starts getting even a little better, you can feel it. A spark, a shift, a sense of pride waking back up. People get excited. They care again. Just like with our own lives, progress feels good.
  
  So be honest about what looks terrible. Stop the deterioration. Fix one thing. Then another. Swap out the ugly, add more beautiful. Momentum starts small but grows fast. Revitalization isn’t a grand slam, it’s a thousand base hits. Make one improvement today, another tomorrow, and eventually you’ll look around and realize you’re living in a completely different place than the one you started with.

• Hard Truth (Friday, December 05 25 07:55 am EST)

  What's the point of having a school if we're just going to have kids take some online learning?
  
  The honors kids get thrown into some sh*ty online course.
  
  But let's go buy a new f'cking building for the POS kids who can't sit in a real classroom, and spend millions on individual teachers for all the 'special' kids.
  
  Once again, good job school board

• Jo (Friday, December 05 25 06:45 am EST)

  I hope Chastenay has a really good reason of pulling this crap midyear. She is screwing over her honor students big time who are now going to be taking some online course.

• Heather (Friday, December 05 25 06:00 am EST)

  Rats are always the first to abandon a sinking ship.

• Crabby (Friday, December 05 25 05:56 am EST)

  Gabby, you might be tempted to say 'just have fewer teachers' or 'spend less on schools.' But letting the workforce shrink through attrition is a trap. The best teachers, the ones who actually have options, are always the first to jump ship when things get tight. What you're left with is the bottom of the barrel, the ones who can't or won't leave. Cutting that way doesn't save money; it just guarantees worse schools.

• Hope (Friday, December 05 25 04:36 am EST)

  When’s the high school guidance counselor leaving?
  They are a radical

• Gabby (Thursday, December 04 25 08:54 pm EST)

  Hopefully more teachers smarten up and leave the district. The school board will just not renew their contract next year leaving them hanging weeks before school starts. Our student enrollment is dropping and more students are switching to online schooling, home school, and private schooling due to this districts mess.

• Heads I win, tails you lose (Thursday, December 04 25 08:38 pm EST)

  Seems weird. Why abandon kids midyear? Doesn't sound like she is retiring.
  
  This is why the district needs to not accept this you can only do layoffs one time a year BS from the union. It would be fine if both sides were bound. But the teachers just walk out whenever they feel like it and screw over the kiddos and their colleagues.
  
  If the union insists on this BS, at least make anyone leaving midyear pay a big fine to the district.

• Why (Thursday, December 04 25 08:09 pm EST)

  Why did she leave?

• Abby (Thursday, December 04 25 07:16 pm EST)

  Just received this message from the High School. This is completely devastating the school system is falling apart and no proper teachers are available to fill in.
  
  “Dear Parents and Guardians,
  
  As you likely know, Mrs Chastenay has recently left Stevens High School after teaching for 23 years. She will be deeply missed, and we wish her well as she begins her new professional journey.
  
  In the wake of her departure, the staff has been working very hard to develop a viable plan to ensure our students' education moves forward with as little disturbance as possible. We are fortunate that Mrs. Chastenay left detailed notes on where all classes left off.
  
  The plan below details who will be covering Mrs. Chastenay’s classes and is projected to start on Monday, December 8th, and run through January 23rd, which is the end of the semester
  
  The following staff members will be covering Mrs. Chastenay's classes:
  
  Simone Cole will be covering the Civics Period 2 class
  
  Abbey Rouillard will take on Mrs. Chastenay’s Advisory.
  
  The Honors World History Period 3 class has been moved to online Odysseyware, which will be graded by Becca Menard.
  
  Kelly Schilb will be covering the World History Period 5 class
  
  Tim Weatherford will be covering the World History Period 7 class.
  
  Hillary Walsh will be covering Mrs. Schilb’s 5th-period Personal Finance class
  
  At the beginning of the second Semester, Kelly Schilb will take on Mrs. Chastenay's full teaching load until the end of the year, except for her advisory, which will stay with Abbey Rouillard.
  
  While not ideal, given how quickly this change happened, the staffing limitations, and contractual obligations, I strongly believe that this plan is the best way to ensure the shortest gap in our students’ learning. I appreciate your patience and support as we make this transition. We are determined to maintain the high quality of instruction for all students during this time.
  
  Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions regarding this coverage plan.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Michael Herrington EdD
  
  Principal
  
  Stevens High School”

• Bill (Thursday, December 04 25 11:14 am EST)

  Just what a public official would say

• Gary (Thursday, December 04 25 08:46 am EST)

  Yeah, pretty sure anytime a citizen who disagrees with posts says something they are labeled as a local official. Sorry to burst your bubble. I pay out the rear on 5 properties and actually watch the meetings when I am not able to attend. There is a glaring difference from what actually occurs and the large sections of meetings Jim chooses to write about. As always, a swing and a miss. I can't quit anything. I have your freeloading ass to pay for and my taxes.

• School Board Viewer Awards (Wednesday, December 03 25 10:51 pm EST)

  Petrin earns the award for “Most Value per Word.” He speaks half as often as anyone else, but when he does, it actually makes sense.
  
  Madden gets the award for “Most Likely to Embarrass His Son in Public.”
  
  Madden also gets the “Dog With a Bone” award for refusing to let the interns issue go. You’re right that it hasn’t been fully explained, and others are right that a contract is a contract and we shouldn’t keep wringing our hands about their pay, even if you don’t like it. But we absolutely need to get to the bottom of how they were hired because the story has changed again and again.
  
  Howard earns an honorable mention for the “Dog With a Bone” award for once again calling out the nonsense around the communications consultant spending.
  
  Christina Swenson gets “Salesperson of the Month for Code Monkey.” After her 15 minute presentation, I honestly wondered why we had a sales rep from Code Monkey there, then checked the agenda and realized she actually works for the school.
  
  The entire board wins the “Big Waste of Time Award” for spending ten times more energy debating a 3,000 dollar item than they did on the 3 million dollars in budget cuts they rubber stamped at the start of the year.
  
  Arlene Hawkins earns an award for being the only board member who actually read the previous error filled meeting minutes while everyone else was ready to approve them as written.
  
  Don Levelette gets an award for showing up and offering to help despite not being selected for the open board seat. Kevin Tyson gets a demerit for not showing up after he wasn’t selected.
  
  Wayne Hemingway and John Cloutier receive the “Going Above and Beyond in Your Unpaid Elected Position” award for attending the meeting. If any of our other representatives were there, you get a demerit for not being astute enough to sit on camera.
  
  The CCTV guy earns the “Keeping the Train on the Tracks” award for not cutting off the meeting early this week.

• Claremont Cares (Wednesday, December 03 25 09:38 pm EST)

  At tonight’s school board meeting Claremont Cares has agreed to take over some things and mobilize. They will be handling and helping out with a lot of things.
  
  If anyone would like to help please reach out to Claremont cares!

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, December 03 25 07:34 pm EST)

  James, you stated in one of your comments that in High School I was a volunteer hall monitor ratting out my peers or creating stories to get them into trouble. What a load of crap! I never did no such thing. The only thing I ever did in High School was to collect attendance slips for whatever floor of the High School I happened to be on during that class period. I wasn’t the only student doing that others had to do it as well on occasion. Teachers chose students who could be trusted. There were hall monitors when I went to Stevens High School but I was never one of them. Whoever told you that is feeding you a line of bullshit that you happily swallowed!

• True Villains (Wednesday, December 03 25 02:48 pm EST)

  In the world of Claremont villains, Jim is much much less of a villain compared to the school board that destroyed the school system, and are in the process of vastly increasing our taxes to support the failed schools.
  
  The community will surely get in a heated debate about school consolidation. But 99% of people on any side of consolidation agree buying the Maple Ave property was a very dumb move and a complete waste of money. If we had excess building capacity, why didn't we just use that? And they did it in secret! Find one person who thinks that was a good idea who isn't on the school board. I challenge any person in Claremont not on the school board to public defend that that was a good idea.
  
  It can't be said enough- F U Heather Whitney and Frank Sprague. I can't think of any two people who have done more to harm this community than you. F U again.

• D (Wednesday, December 03 25 02:09 pm EST)

  Gary: I agree that citizens should watch meetings themselves and shouldn't put much stock in the 'spin' Jim or anyone else puts on the coverage. That said, Jim does seek out documents and report that information to the wider community, which is a service. However tedious or expensive you think it is for Jim to be requesting so many documents, imagine if every citizen had to request each document individually. This is the purpose of journalism. Unfortunately, the citizens of Claremont weren't keen on paying for newspapers or other media, so we're left with only citizen volunteers doing journalism, like Jim. Of course, I do wish he would speculate less in his commentary.
  
  Sunlight might not be best disinfectant in all cases. But is a good one in many cases.

• Don (Wednesday, December 03 25 02:09 pm EST)

  Gary: I agree that citizens should watch meetings themselves and shouldn't put much stock in the 'spin' Jim or anyone else puts on the coverage. That said, Jim does seek out documents and report that information to the wider community, which is a service. However tedious or expensive you think it is for Jim to be requesting so many documents, imagine if every citizen had to request each document individually. This is the purpose of journalism. Unfortunately, the citizens of Claremont weren't keen on paying for newspapers or other media, so we're left with only citizen volunteers doing journalism, like Jim. Of course, I do wish he would speculate less in his commentary.
  
  Sunlight might not be best disinfectant in all cases. But is a good one in many cases.

• Greg (Wednesday, December 03 25 01:37 pm EST)

  Gary sounds like a local official who is bitter about being scrutinized by Jim's investigative reporting. Gary whoever you really are do is all a favor and quit.

• Gary (Wednesday, December 03 25 01:19 pm EST)

  Right, you mean if Jim didn't spin each item he finds you wouldn't know what to think. In essence you are saying you are too lazy or busy to pay attention or watch meetings yourself so you want the crib notes from a guy who does not or has never paid taxes to give you the rundown. I understand now. A guy who has never made any of his own money or contributed to the community in anyway should totally be your cheerleader. You should probably have him email your doctor and dentist for you since you can't do things on your own. There is a difference between any citizen that shows up at a meeting and participates or asks a single question vs a guy who has not attended a single meeting since being in office decades ago. Let that sink in. Not a single meeting. Instead email the people he name calls and expects them to bend over backwards for a witchhunt. Yet to see any attorney take Jim up on his 91a stall complaints. Keep up the solid self pats on the back.

• Don (Wednesday, December 03 25 12:35 pm EST)

  I think Jim gets too much hate here. It is true that he is very cynical, and he often implies or questions whether there is malintent in situations where there probably is not, or where there is at least not enough evidence to reach that conclusion. I do wish he would editorialize a bit less in his reporting and highlight a few more glimmers of positive developments.
  
  Even so, I believe he provides an important service to the community. No news outlet is doing investigative journalism in Claremont, and there are questionable things that happen in local government in Claremont and in many other places. I suspect that the possibility of Jim filing a 91A request has prevented some bad behavior from occurring.
  
  When it comes to the requests themselves, the city is a mess. A comparison with the schools is useful. Many people have been filing 91A requests related to the current school issues, and the administration has generally been responsive and willing to answer questions. This should not be mistaken for an endorsement of how they have managed the schools’ finances, which has been a devastating failure. But anyone who has ever filed a 91A request with the city knows how different the experience is. The city is unresponsive, it stonewalls, it simply does not reply, and it often claims it cannot find records that clearly exist. The city truly needs to improve the way it handles 91A requests.

• Sarah (Wednesday, December 03 25 10:00 am EST)

  The city does not produce documents they provide copies of documents they have. The log listed the number of days it took to provide the document it was deceiving to embarrass Jim. If he did not do the requests we would not know what is really going on with the city and school.

• John J. Smoltz (Wednesday, December 03 25 08:59 am EST)

  James, when Yoshi was manager he kept a log that was available on the city website that tracked 91A requests. I was going to link you but the website is currently down. The time and costs associated with Jim's non-substantivate witch hunts is pretty annoying. The time it takes to produce the documents AND the legal fees associated with some of his outlandish requests were extremely eye opening.

• James (Wednesday, December 03 25 08:07 am EST)

  I don't recall the meeting where the city website was designed as the soul purpose of posting documents. I am having a hard time finding the section of state law that says it can't be available the night of the meeting at the meeting location or posted on bulletin boards. That is so odd.
  
  During your tirade you don't mention the municipal portion stayed flat?
  
  I am curious how many 91a requests you submitted last year that took employee hours to chase down?
  
  How many criminal convictions for alleged wrong doing did your rants produce since you started this page?
  
  How much have you personally paid in taxes to the city of Claremont? I can't seem to locate a single tax, water or sewer bill.
  
  How many seated councilors have you unsealed with name calling and "articles"?
  
  How many public meetings have you physically attended?
  
  Pretty sad that the answer to most of these are zero. That is right, zero.
  
  Time to get off your fat ass. Being a miserable prick who pretends to work and then grinds his axe to get back at anyone who disagrees is a short path to nothing.
  
  In High School Jim you used to be a volunteer hall monitor ratting out your peers or creating stories to get them in trouble. It is amazing that somethings never change.
  
  Be a better person. If you need a document ask nicely. 20 minutes after the council meeting I simple asked a councilor and they sent me a copy. It really isn't that difficult. Members of the public had access at the meeting. The point of the meeting was to announce the information. Your demand it gets posted in advance means the meeting wouldn't need to happen.
  
  Grow up Jim.

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, December 02 25 10:50 pm EST)

  Perhaps so James but most people do not attend Council meetings. This is public information and should be available on the City website, which was created for this purpose with Claremont Taxpayer Funds. They should have been a Council Information Packet posted on the City website for that Council meeting as is the usual procedure for full transparency. Anything less is simply an excuse.

• James (Tuesday, December 02 25 10:41 pm EST)

  Jim, there are copies on the public information rack in the council chambers where the meeting took place. You perhaps didn't attend or grab a copy like the people present did. It is easier to pretend there is a conspiracy or demand information goes direct to you or it must not exist. Reminder, you are not a council member and the world doesn't revolve around you. Grow up.

• Santa (Tuesday, December 02 25 10:37 pm EST)

  Fake commenter "Tony". So wise. Check your own house before worrying about others. I bet you are such a kind, giving soul trolling in this sewer.
  
  Merry Christmas

• Jim Sullivan (Tuesday, December 02 25 07:48 pm EST)

  During last night’s meeting, Acting City Manager Nancy Bates gave the Councilors a handout stating the Preliminary Property Tax Rates for Claremont for 2025. The only figure that was orally stated was the overall total of $30.54. Claremont’s 2024 overall Property Tax Rate was $29.26; meaning this will be an overall Property Tax Rate increase of $1.28 per $1,000 of Property Valuation; a 4.37% hike! This handout and the other handouts that Mayor Girard distributed to the Council at the end of the brief meeting without saying what those documents were was never posted on the City of Claremont website as a Council Information Packet, which is the general practice. So much for open and transparent government! I have already submitted a request for information for those documents and will publish them once I receive them. Unlike the Acting City Manager, the Mayor & other the Councilors, I don’t believe in hiding anything from the public because you all have a right to know what public officials are doing in your name even if they all arrogantly don't think so!

• Tony (Tuesday, December 02 25 07:30 pm EST)

  A few good acts does not absolve one of other bad deeds.

• Vanessa (Tuesday, December 02 25 06:48 pm EST)

  James, he has posts with thanks. It says on occasion locals contribute a few items but he doesn't want that to take away from Toys for Tots or Kiwanis so encourages those gifts to those organizations. The city of Claremont calls firemen stipend goes to the children's hospital direct which shows on a hospital post. The most recent post has a thank you to the Atv club for their help. There is also a thank you to a lady that handed $10 while he was shopping. You could go ask him for further details. This is only what I know. Offer to help sort which I did one year. If feels good to give back. Love people who ridicule or speculate when someone chooses good.

• James (Tuesday, December 02 25 03:07 pm EST)

  I don't know what the inside scoop on the Topstone or BBQ stuff is, but Koloski does seem like a good dude for all of the toy stuff. Is it just Koloski, or do other people contribute money to that?

• Imagine If.... (Tuesday, December 02 25 02:51 pm EST)

  Thank goodness the school board isn’t in charge of the community center.
  They’d have approved it in a secret meeting, lost track of a few million dollars, blamed the usual suspects (everyone except themselves), shuttered the place, and sold it to Planet Fitness for pennies on the dollar.
  
  End result: no community center, millions lost, everything would be gone. Of course in the end, when everything is gone and there is nothing, there would still be one job left for Frank Sprague’s wife.

• Ed (Tuesday, December 02 25 02:39 pm EST)

  I would be much more worried to be Planet Fitness than I would be to be the community center. We have had prior gyms in Claremont go out of business. With the annual fee you're looking at 19+ a month at PF for the cheap membership. For 27 you get the community center which is much nicer and has a pool. I don't think the community center should lower its price.
  
  Either would have done poorly on their own, and they each will do worse being opened at the same time. But what are the options? Its nice, it does add to the town, and we spent a lot of money on it. It would be foolish to close at this point.

• John Q. Public (Tuesday, December 02 25 02:16 pm EST)

  John J. O’Connor, You write "If you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you get…" I mostly agree with that. But what they need to do differently has nothing to do with buildings. I don't care if you put all the kinds in one building or reopen all of the neighborhood schools, that's not going to fix the "inadequate education" problem.
  
  One of the problems with school consolidation is that its a huge distraction from what we should be focused on. Bring up school consolidation and the school board meetings are packed with people on both sides of the issue. Cancel sports, and the school board meetings are packed with public outrage. Get horrible testing results and no one cares.
  
  Here's how you make Claremont happy: you consolidate all the kids into one school. No need for enough desks or classrooms because you also cut the academics and teachers. You take the money saved and split it between increasing the athletic budget and giving out tax breaks. The town would throw you a parade.

• Mark (Tuesday, December 02 25 11:03 am EST)

  Want give a shout out to the city employees who did show up for work today! Hope the ones who called out today either used time or not getting paid cause you know damn well they aren’t working from home.

• Tom (Tuesday, December 02 25 09:49 am EST)

  It was the plan along to bring planet fitness in and close the community center and make it just a homeless shelter.

• Tax rate (Tuesday, December 02 25 09:26 am EST)

  Did anyone see the Council meeting last night? Did they set the tax rate? Does anyone know how much it is going up?

• John J. Jingleheimer-Schmitt (Tuesday, December 02 25 07:57 am EST)

  The community center is screwed. Not because it is more expensive than PF will be but because they do nothing to attract and retain membership. My family has had memberships before and we just always have let them lapse. We don't use the facility enough. Did we ever get a call about the renewal? No. We did get an email stating that it was about to expire, but that was it.
  
  How about an aggressive advertising campaign offering trial memberships, fitness classes, etc? You have a tour guide who attends to the visitors needs, encourages them, offers them tips on working with equipment?
  
  When they are done with their trial you have a staff member speak to them before they leave. You make them ask for the sale!
  
  As they say; hope is not a strategy, but it seems to be the strategy we are taking.

• John J. O’Connor (Tuesday, December 02 25 07:31 am EST)

  As far as School consolidation is concerned, that’s driven by enrollment numbers.
  It’s business not personal.
  Claremont has an aging population with a subpar educational system, are you surprised that enrollment numbers are dropping ?
  For decades Claremont has been the “poster child” for inadequate education, whether financially or educationally. It is known Statewide that Claremont is consistently is in the top tier of spending and at the bottom of the list as far as results are concerned.
  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you get…

• John J. O’Connor (Tuesday, December 02 25 07:22 am EST)

  Why is everyone freaking out about Planet Fitness ?
  If the Community Center can provide a better experience, they have nothing to worry about.
  Jim is right, the pool is the difference maker but they are treating the indoor pool like they did the former outdoor pool, little to no maintenance.
  A diving board and slide are nice additions but as the numbers indicate, it’s not enough to bring in new customers.
  If I had a “crystal ball” I’m sure the future of the Community would look bleak.
  Privatization must be looked into, the City can’t afford it.

• Go Home! (Tuesday, December 02 25 03:47 am EST)

  "Go Schools!"
  A few years ago, our community studied, debated, and rejected the proposal to consolidate the schools. You’re certainly entitled to believe that decision was wrong but that was the outcome of the democratic process.
  
  Now, the same incompetent and untrustworthy school board is trying to ram that rejected plan down the town’s throat, using a financial “crisis” as an excuse. A crisis, need I remind you, that they themselves created.
  They’re rushing this through quickly and with as little transparency as possible. If the goal is truly to save money on buildings, here’s an idea that would have made far more sense: not buying and renovating the Masonic Lodge in the first place, only to try to sell it at a loss without ever using it for a single day.
  
  Heather “Half-Ass Everything” Hathaway Whitney Havey and Frank “It’s Everyone Else’s Fault But Mine” Sprague were on the board, voted in secret to buy that building, and haven't given a full, honest accounting of why it was supposedly needed, or what magically changed to make it worthless overnight.
  
  The community deserves transparency and an open discussion, not another backroom deal by the same dishonest, incompetent, and corrupt school board members that got us into this mess.

• Go Schools! (Monday, December 01 25 03:54 pm EST)

  Such great news! Close Bluff, then close Disnard. Make Maple for the littles, CMS for the mid-aged, and SHS a middle/high school. That is the MOST financially prudent decision that could be made. Yes, the CAVE people who like the "feel good neighborhood schools" will be all up in arms. the crocodile tears will flow like they did with Bluff - but we will move on through it and the city will be healthier because of it.
  
  You're a real piece of work, Sullivan. The district is moving towards fiscal responsibility and you can't even thank them for taking those steps. You see the negative and ONLY the negative and even take the POSITIVE and spin it as a NEGATIVE. You aren't 'public enemy number 1' you are the 'biggest pos in the city, period'.

• Jake (Monday, December 01 25 01:11 pm EST)

  Tom, you are kinda slow huh? Please let us know how Planet Fitness was recruited by the City. They were not. Here is a fact for you. A private property owner such as the David Rosen, the owner of the shopping plaza where Planet Fitness signed a lease, can lease space to anyone they see fit. The city has zero feedback or say outside of permits. Perhaps you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground. Thanks for flapping those gums.

• Tom (Monday, December 01 25 10:18 am EST)

  Poor planning from the planning office with planet fitness. They knew it would hurt the community center but they still pushed to get them to come in. City manager director and city planner all knew this would hurt but they don’t care about Claremont.

• Tom (Monday, December 01 25 09:00 am EST)

  Someone else may be controlling those things on Koloski's behalf

• Shadow (Monday, December 01 25 08:32 am EST)

  Bill, you mean 8 other elected individuals and a manager don't have a backbone and just use talking points to pretend it is a concern. You miss the point. Jim omits details that don't paint his picture. I watch every meeting and the announcements of a commercial gym coming was 11 months before they signed a lease. He mentioned it again during budgets which they dismissed. According to minutes 4 months prior to budgets the manager says in response no permits have been pulled and doesn't believe it to be true. A month before budget hearings planet fitness pulls permits. What is the point. The public notices these things. Reflected in the votes. Let's use your words saying he is not influential. Yet Jim believes he controls DES, inspectors, managers, assessing and more. There it is. The points you miss.

• Bill (Monday, December 01 25 08:15 am EST)

  You are referring to Koloski and he is so influencial that none of those minor things were never done. They would have not changed any of the problems anyway. Koloski never comes up with solutions to problems. He is just a sad pathetic boy seeking attention. Planet fitness coming to Claremont was already all over social media when Koloski said something at a meeting.

• Jimmy W (Sunday, November 30 25 08:03 pm EST)

  When the wife wants a membership to planet fitness because the men eye candy will be there

• Purposely or Error (Sunday, November 30 25 05:39 pm EST)

  That is so odd Jim, you must not watch the meetings where a Council member repeatedly demanded community center action. You must have not watched the meetings or you purposely omit details. I watch them and even found details in a Google search for minutes.
  
  Jim, which councilor asked for a task force be put together of local business people and stakeholders to address the csbcc?
  
  Jim, which councilor brought forward a proposal including fundraiser for an aquatic Ninja System for the center?
  
  Jim, which councilor members suggested a free license free music program for the center and how to decrease the cable bill?
  
  Jim, which councilor announce publicly Planet Fitness was coming about a year before it was announced by Planet Fitness?
  
  The same council member is listed in minutes sounding the alarm for 2 years. I can't find minutes prior.
  
  This is all found when looking at minutes via Google for council and csbcc.
  
  The answer seems clear so perhaps you accidently omitted all that information to fit your narrative.
  
  Good job as always.

• Ryan (Sunday, November 30 25 04:42 pm EST)

  They should close the community center write down and move the visitor center in there and close the visitor center down for good. The building is falling apart let it go.

• Max (Sunday, November 30 25 03:43 pm EST)

  I hope Disnard does close. When your enrollment continues to decline and the school budget continues to rise, something is wrong. It seems the school board is actually acting responsibly. 40 Maple Ave was a silly purchase to begin with. Yes, it will be potentially sold at a loss, but at least the taxpayer can recover something as opposed to nothing if they keep it.

• Concerned Parent (Sunday, November 30 25 03:20 pm EST)

  https://www.reddit.com/r/newhampshire/comments/1p5jyf9/claremont_school_district_test_scores_vs_the/#lightbox

• Steve (Sunday, November 30 25 02:13 pm EST)

  Those lying bitches and bastards on the school board said they were going to level fund the budget for next year. There is no way they will cut the budget by $4 million. We will see that $3.25 property tax rate hike next year. They have been lying to us from the beginning. They knew they could not do it but they were playing us like they did by closing the Bluff and now it will be Disnard next. They are destroying the school district and we are letting them do it. I feel sorry for the kids who are getting a sorry excuse for an education and being put through all these changes because we all put our trust in the wrong people. Shame on the school leaders and shame on us.

• Jessica (Sunday, November 30 25 01:20 pm EST)

  My daughter goes to CMS. Why were the parents uninformed of structural problems with the building? My husband and I do not like the idea of our daughter going to SHS so soon. We think she is too young to be with older students. Parents should have a say in the matter.

• Sarah (Sunday, November 30 25 12:02 pm EST)

  OMG! I feel like my head is going to explode. Jim Sullivan exposed to so much this week. The Disnard school may close. The contingency fund is wiped out. They might reopen the Bluff school again for school programs or rented out to whoever. They want to sell the large they just bought this year and we will probably take a loss on that. The health insurance increase next year probably $700,000 or more. More consultants to be hired. School leaders were promising a flat budget for next year but Jim showed us that they will need to cut about $4 million from next year's budget to do that. They are lying to us again and this $4 million will add $3.25 to the tax rate next year in 2026 if those budget cuts are not made. The Claremont middle school needs structural repairs and that means the building could be unsafe for our kids and the teachers, etc. who work there. Mister Angell is now calling what happened fraud. If that weren't enough the community center has lost 12% of their membership before Planet Fitness has even open their doors sometime before Christmas. Claremont is a mess and our leaders are just make in a worse mess of it. Jim Sullivan is right all of the leaders have failed us and we need to put in new leaders or Claremont will not survive.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, November 30 25 11:25 am EST)

  Five new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) Claremont School Officials are still hiding the truth from the public! Such as the proposed closure of the Disnard Elementary School among other things!
  
  2) School Employee Health Insurance Costs to increase by 10.9% – 11.9% or more next year!
  
  3) Is SAU Consolidation in our future?
  
  4) Claremont Savings Bank Community Center loses substantial membership prior to the opening of local Planet Fitness!
  
  5) Council to hold special meeting regarding 2025 Property Tax Rate!

• Wayne McElreavy (Sunday, November 30 25 11:01 am EST)

  To answer poster "Never Rest" - The closest dry cleaner was Claremont Cleansers & Dyers, which operated out of 56 Summer Street from the mid 1930s to mid 1950s.

• Rick (Sunday, November 30 25 09:37 am EST)

  It only doesn't matter to those who are trying to protect Koloski who is operating a restaurant and two other businesses on a Brownfield site in a building that the city assessor considers to only be 2% safe.

• Insider (Sunday, November 30 25 09:06 am EST)

  None of it even matters. Review all Nancy Merrill work. Feeding it into Ai . You’ll see Jim

• Rick (Sunday, November 30 25 08:22 am EST)

  Oh my gosh you are so right nobody said anything about the "chemicals". I mean except the State of NH, their public website, scientists, geologists and the company testing in the middle of Sweetfire.
  
  So you are too lazy to read for yourself and see that the Mill was suggested for 10 years to be a source. The owners had to file plans and spent hundreds of thousands to identify it and correct it. Fast forward many years and the testing wells show nothing so they are decommissioned. The state sends the owners of Sweetfire many letters which are ignored. Those are on the state website. The state accessed the property and pays for testing. They identify the large pocket under the restaurant at the Sweetfire lot and begin steps to plan to remdiate it.
  
  So lets recap. It is not Topstones problem to resolve. It shows on maps to be miniscule parts per million in one test well in the city right of way at Park Avenue. Should the city or state pay back the $300,000 in testing for wells Topstone installed at the cities demand to later find out it is not their issue? Do you spend your time on Mulberry Street 100 feet or so below the ground where any of this would matter to you?
  
  So lets recap again. The state is trying to determine how to clean Sweetfires lot and where the source comes from uphill from there. It is not Topstone so maybe you can figure it out now.
  
  There is the "chemicals" for dummies version. Maybe you can go back to complaining about free bananas that nobody showed you a picture of.

• Vic Tory (Saturday, November 29 25 09:56 pm EST)

  ***Question***: Why doesn't whoever is responsible just clean up the chemicals? how do we know the property is safe for public use? Why did the building owners get a sweetheart taxbreak because of the mess but arent required to clean it up?
  
  ***Answer***: Youre against kids getting toys. Youre against Nick giving out food. Nick is too busy helping the poor to answer questions. These questions have already been answered. Go 91a all the documents and read them yourself. No one owes you an answer. You sound like someone who doesn't help other people. You probably have no job. The restaurant across the street doesn't do this or that right. Jim is bad for having a public forum. etc etc etc
  
  ***but nothing on the chemicals***

• Vic (Saturday, November 29 25 05:21 pm EST)

  This dude bitching about free vegetables perfectly sums up the value of Jim Sullivan and the Sullivan Report. A place for people to ridicule folks that actually do something within the community. Why would Koloski owe you any explanation on a property that is not his and the actions of DES, a state agency. He should stop everything he does to answer you for things you are puzzled about. Food has been given away out of his pocket and with the help of others for 20 years. Somehow he owes you any explaining on his buying habits and what is available. He buys toys for 5 or 6 hospitals each year. Do you need to know why he picks each toy and should get a copy of the receipt so you can feel better about yourself? There are tons of newpaper articles about it. How about the medical equipment he gives out? You need to know why he prefers certain brands or where he learned to repair equipment before accepting items? You seem like someone who does nothing for yourself or others. Perhaps get a job or hobby. Nobody is defending just pointing out clearly obvious facts. I dine at the restaurant and every week there is food out for others. It is not items they carry or sell in the restaurant so every single complaint and theory you have is false. Get to know someone before opening your mouth. Thanks

• Never Rest (Saturday, November 29 25 04:34 pm EST)

  I think Koloski just buys in bulk and over buys. Those bananas weren't going to last long. Some of the rest might have. But maybe they were all stocked up. Curious he never shows what is in the big box on the table. Maybe do a reveal next week?
  
  Whats up with the dry cleaning chemicals. Was there a dry cleaners in any location near there?
  
  None of it makes sense. If the comments below are true, its worse than I thought. If the property isn't fit for someone living there or a daycare, that's too much risk for me. Wasn't Koloski wanting to put like a skating rink in there. There is outdoor dining. People walk through the parking lot. Koloski will be much better served when he explains whats up. If people are taking too long in Escape room they should hit them with the 14000 pages of environmental brownsite stuff.
  
  We can argue all day. People can get mad at people. But why not just make whoever owns it clean it up. Not a dime of tax relief until they do. If they cleaned it up when it was found, none of us would be talking about it.
  
  So sick of the whataboutism. Is Koloski the worse person in the city or world? no. Does that mean we can't criticize him? No. Are comments on the Sullivan Report the worse comments in the world? No. So same should apply to you. You can't comment on our comments unless they are the worse comments in the world. Which they are not.
  
  And if the BBQ place is actually doing something illegal like folks are hinting, then maybe call literally any enforcement agency rather than just typing away.
  
  Either way, I won’t be eating there. I try not to pair my brisket with dry cleaning fluid.

• Give it a rest (Saturday, November 29 25 02:53 pm EST)

  NH DES Sweet Fire Bbq
  
  https://www4.des.state.nh.us/DESOneStop/PRSDetail.aspx?ID=0042121&Type=PRS

• Citizen (Saturday, November 29 25 11:03 am EST)

  You think Koloski is answering the same dumb questions on here? If you want answers go ask him face to face like many have. It is really not that difficult. Better yet, help yourself educate yourself before making a post stating things you don't fathom.

• Sullivan Fan (Saturday, November 29 25 10:08 am EST)

  Jim, any chance you are planning to report on blatant special intrest groups praying on naive Claremonters?
  
  I for one would like to know more about the Mike Tetu & Sam Killay union especially that Claremont Cares apears to have joined the mission.

• Jim (Saturday, November 29 25 08:30 am EST)

  Todd, nice man tits.

• Matt K. (Saturday, November 29 25 08:27 am EST)

  Mike, that is not accurate. Everyone has their own facts but interesting enough the actual information is there is nothing to encapsulate as the plume is in the middle of Sweet Fires dining room actually under the restaurant. It is the subject of a file on the Department of Environmental Services website. They actually call the file Sweet Fire BBQ. You probably didn't notice drilling rigs in their parking lot and onsite testing as they took over Sweet Fire. I live on Park Avenue and it was very noticeable. I was out for a walk with the dog and decided since they were set up with blueprints on a folding table that I would ask what was going on. DES was very helpful in explaining. There has been nothing found on the Topstone site and they have been removing those wells. The one that still exist is right next to the street sign for Park Avenue. It is encased in concrete so the city doesn't take it out with a plow. They tested the old Flock building as well.
  
  I have to wonder with such a high concentration of chemical under Sweet Fire nobody on here seems to care. Seems pretty clear Jim only has the focus on Koloski. He has all of these documents but I have not seen Jim apologize or mention with any concern how the restaurant across from Topstone not owned by a city councilor is still operational. Where is Jim demanding action? Where is the Sweet Fire file on here? I already know the answer. It is not owned by a councilor so he doesn't care. While standing there with DES I did ask about air quality. The testing levels for housing had been met. All information publicly available. Do you think for a moment you would read a positive "article" on here?
  
  DES just published the full Sweet Fire report. They said they are backlogged so it did take a considerable amount of time to upload to the website. They had warned me about that backlog when kindly answering my questions.

• Todd (Saturday, November 29 25 07:38 am EST)

  Nice spin Nick.

• mike (Saturday, November 29 25 07:34 am EST)

  Not Koloski, but I can try to help explain what I know about “chemicals” and brownfield sites. There are different uses allowed by the government when sites are contaminated. The “chemicals” are not wafting around in the air. Typically they’re in the soil. So they often don’t allow residential uses, due to the fact that people are more likely to be interacting with the soil. They usually won’t allow a daycare to be there. But a restaurant doesn’t usually have anything to do with the soil underneath a building. Also, I should add that one way of dealing with a contaminated site is to cap it with concrete. So as long as the bottom floor of the topstone building is concrete, and as long as the restaurant isn’t having pig roasts or clambakes in the ground, we have nothing to worry about. Now if the owner ever wanted to put apartments upstairs, that would be a bigger hurdle.

• Saint Nicholas (Saturday, November 29 25 06:29 am EST)

  How much food has Jim given away? Nick could go head to head with Jim any day. Nick is a true Catholic.

• More Food (Friday, November 28 25 08:04 pm EST)

  Koloski giving food away again. This time he pointed the camera at the food, and it looks like good stuff. He has to be a decent guy, if he is giving away that much food. I thought it would be like half used stuff that was about to spoil. But no, he could have kept that stuff for longer. He gots more votes than anyone else. Still wish he'd explain the chemical stuff better. Endlessly attacking folks for asking about it is the thing that turns people off the most. If its fine, just explain it.

• Insider (Friday, November 28 25 05:47 pm EST)

  Big resignations coming next week
  Hold on to your pants, we’re in for a tough winter

• J Dubs (Friday, November 28 25 05:05 pm EST)

  I can’t believe some dude giving away 100 bills at
  Walmart
  Today and I. Didn’t get one
  I should get one

• Rick (Friday, November 28 25 09:24 am EST)

  Conjecture.

• John J O’Connor (Friday, November 28 25 08:11 am EST)

  Tom,
  If I’ve learned anything living here, this is the land of RATS. If someone solicited a bribe or accepted one, people would know. I’m sure those people that would know about bribery, solicitation or extortion are also the same people that are frequent flyers that are constantly engaging with the PD.
  Are you telling those people wouldn’t RAT on those committing a crime to get out from under their own bullshit, of course they would and that’s how I know no bribes were offered or received because we live in the land of RATS
  Again, common sense

• Paul (Friday, November 28 25 08:10 am EST)

  Jim can you make s chart of all the years Koloski has ran for office and the number of years you have attacked him with unfounded allegations. From my online search it would appear he is the top vote getter. The numbers increase, not decrease every election. Get my point yet? Probably not. You don't have the following you think you do. Find a new hobby douchebag.

• Bill (Friday, November 28 25 07:19 am EST)

  What is HO?

• Andy D (Friday, November 28 25 05:06 am EST)

  Health inspection has never looked at the brown site issue at the Topstone. You’ll have to make a specific complaint to the H.O.
  The H.O. Will really look into it IF they know about it

• Tom (Thursday, November 27 25 08:37 pm EST)

  I am not saying that any bribes were paid out but it is very hard to catch anyone taking a cash bribe. As a ex-cop you should know that.

• John O’Connor (Thursday, November 27 25 08:31 pm EST)

  Terry,
  I just call it like I see it. This Koloski issue has been investigated and investigated and Nicks business is still in operation. Some will say those in charge are turning a blind eye.
  My question is why would a city or state official risk their livelihood, their families security, their jobs for Nick ?
  Common sense would tell you no one would do that unless they were seriously compensated. So let’s assume someone was paid off, if that was true, because of the numerous investigations by multiple agencies conducted by several investigators, that too would have been exposed.
  So you see, it has nothing to do with my head up anyone’s ass, it has to do with common sense, something that is seriously lacking on this site.

• Terry (Thursday, November 27 25 08:06 pm EST)

  Typical O'Connor response. His head is so firmly up Koloski's asshole he can't see straight. He has his head up the assholes of the other city leaders too. O'Connor is not on the side of the people.

• John J O’Connor (Thursday, November 27 25 07:26 pm EST)

  Councilor Koloski’s Brownsite situation has been throughly investigated. I am certain with all the negative publicity, he has had multiple Health Inspections.
  If there was a serious environmental problem he never would be allowed to occupy that building, lucky for him he occupies the 2 % of the building that functional.
  He donates food and Christmas toys spending his own money and you people have problem with that. If Nick said oxygen was good for ya I’d expect you haters to hold your breath till you pass out.
  It’s time for Jim to find another whipping boy because this dog won’t hunt anymore.

• Bud (Thursday, November 27 25 05:23 pm EST)

  Koloski has praised for the free food like 20x already. what more do you want. now there is a photo. but it is new. he must be reading this. still the video of him looking at the food and not showing it was weird. sorry. he gave food. which i like. really. 21x now. i didn't give any food. your rite. if that makes me an a-hole. ok.
  
  But the chemicals are another story. the fact its a brownsite is documented. its been discussed at the council 100x. no one understands what is going on. instead of explaining people dont understand you attack them and tell them to go 91a 14000 pages. maybe people dont understand but be nice about it and explain it. instead of attack. sometimes people dont know everything and they still get to be worried. the building or business should make a faq about it.
  
  i'm thankful that Koloski gave food to those in need. really am. 22x now. happy. don't understand how chemicals are ever ok anywhere. can tell you dont live there. take koloski out of it. why didnt city make whoever made the problem clean it up. why wasnt tax giveaway conditional on cleanup? if the bbq people are bad, file a complaint. have the city go after them. i agree if what you say is right.
  
  i know. i know. i should go 91a all the info from the city and read it myself. all you do is attack attack attack. where is the document saying its been cleaned up?

• Kelly (Thursday, November 27 25 04:59 pm EST)

  Society and your peers are not responsible for explaining to a grown adult something they misunderstand or choose to not find the answers to questions on their own. Is that how you operate. If something thinks you are an asshole you need to walk us through the steps to show us you are not. Because you cry wolf does not mean the world stops to correct accusations you yourself posted without facts. You are all over the place and it reads as such. First how dare he not prove what food is available via video. Do you hear yourself. The world doesn't owe you anything. Don't like it, distribute your own food with your own money and stop being an asshole. I imagine Jim Sullivan is addressed because he posted information which you don't bother to understand. Seemingly you didn't bother to notice the photo of food he had instead you clicked on video and complain anyway. The world doesn't owe you bud.

• Alex Alex Alex (Thursday, November 27 25 03:23 pm EST)

  This a public forum. I don't know why you are so mad at jim for not making the points you want to be made. Raise them yourself!
  
  The problem with your post is that you are writing to jim who you think knows what you are talking about. he might, but no one else does.
  
  Just write the message you want to everyone explaining from the start the issue so everyone can understand it.
  
  Why didn't you john q public go and request on 91a all 14,000 pages of documents and read them. thats a tall order.
  
  Given so many people who want to defend Koloski. Just explain it all from start to finish. Where did the chemicals come from? When were they detected. Where are they and aren't they. What has been established by state. What is done vs. need to be done. etc.

• Alex (Thursday, November 27 25 02:16 pm EST)

  James, were you aware when you develop a property, and pay for any environmental study, those help you identify any area needing to be addressed. Items get classified as immediate or as needed, when altering a specific area of a property. I suspect you are well aware. You are also aware that if lead paint, tile floor or other materials are less than a certain square footage of alterations it doesn't impact a project or require reporting or remediation. I suspect you are aware.
  
  Jim I suspect you are also aware that there is a full 14000 page file on the lot across the street from the property you reference. You are also fully aware Joe's Family Car Care, The Elks Club and properties along Prospect and Mulberry were also tested to rule out a source of what can be classified as dry cleaning chemical beneath the surface. I suspect you omit any of this with purpose. You also don't reference the parts per million on Park Avenue vs. the high solid numbers on the maps and files in your possession from your state of NH 91a request located directly under Sweet Fire. This would show how minor vs. major each property is.
  
  To pretend this isn't a repeated targeted attack at an individual James please share a link to the amount of rooms and meals paid by the property across from Koloski that has been ignoring (documented) letters demanding environmental action.
  
  Explain to your readers how that property not owned or operated by Mr. Koloski is still allowed to remain open as a restaurant and serving the public. Koloski's restaurant doesn't have documented chemicals at any level in or near the encapsulated business space. However you never mention the number of decommissioned wells that the owners of Topstone paid for on their property to find out it is not on their property. In smaller terms, those wells paid for by Topstone showed no signs of anything and were allowed to be decommissioned and removed.
  
  If you clip over to Concords website you will see a readily accessible link which is non debatable when applying for tax abatement if your property is classified as a brownfield site. A brownfield site would be any property that required testing wells. Topstone could have, but didn't apply for this. Instead they argued, as you have encouraged tax payers every year to file for abatement if they feel they are over assessed.
  
  You show your interest in targeting by ignoring simple things easily in your possession and found online. It took me less than 2 hours to sort this all out. Jim, you don't report about the restaurant across the street that does not pay taxes? You have no interest that they have no liquor license but sell booze. No interest that they have employees but pay under the table. No interest in sharing the DES letters sent to Sweet Fire that are ignored. No interest that no amount is collected on rooms and meals. It is only of interest if Mr. Koloski owned it correct? I point all this out as it is clearly a personal witch hunt for you. Keep beating the dead horse.
  
  Less than 2 hours Jim to locate all this on the internet. All documents you have in your possession. How do I know? 91a request.

• Give a link (Thursday, November 27 25 12:13 pm EST)

  in my book, there are three kinds of people in the world:
  1- those who don't own property with known toxic issues
  2- those who do own property with known toxic issues and aren't doing anything else until it is fixed.
  3- scumbags
  
  you might not like my opinion, but if you think anything is false info, please explain what and give link.
  
  when was property remediated? please share link.
  
  youre right Koloski doesnt own building. still lower taxes on it can help him. building can charge less rent. he does own land nearby (part of parking lot maybe?). they have environ issues see "Former Bulk Fuel Facility" on arcgis.
  
  "Several soil excavations have taken place to address petroleum-impacted soil across the Site. A chlorinated solvents plume has been identified in soil and groundwater at the Site, but a source has not yet been identified and is suspected to be associated with a release at the upgradient Sweet Fire BBQ property. "
  
  has that been fixed?
  
  free food = good.

• Jim Sullivan (Thursday, November 27 25 11:59 am EST)

  In regards to the Topstone property here are the facts.
  
  According to the EPA website the Topstone property Brownfield Site has not been remediated. In regards to Remediating Action for Contaminants, Petroleum Products, Asbestos, Lead, PCBS & VOC’s all are classified as “not cleaned up”. In regards to Remediating Action for Media, Petroleum Products, Building Materials & Groundwater are also all classified as “not cleaned up”.
  
  When the Claremont City Council was considering CCTV Topstone property on Mulberry Street for years of non-payment of property taxes the owners received a clandestine, unprecedented 76% Property Assessment Reduction and a waiver of $222,725 worth of Property Tax Debt (approximately 97% of Topstone Holdings LLC’s Tax Debt at that time)! A huge loss to the Claremont Taxpayers! Former City Manager Ryan McNutt was soon terminated by the Council afterwords; Councilor Nick Koloski cast the only Nay vote in regards to that termination.
  
  The Topstone Building’s Building Percent Good Rating has been set at only 2% (meaning that according to the City Assessor the property is 98% deficient), ever since that Property Assessment Reduction occurred and it remains at that 2% Building Percent Good Rating level today. Yet despite the fact of the incredibly low Building Percent Good Rating and the fact that the property is a Brownfield Site, Claremont City Officials have not seen fit to condemn the building for public safety reasons!
  
  There is no record that Councilor Nick Koloski has any ownership interest in the Topstone property but his 3 businesses are located in the building, one of those businesses is a restaurant.

• Beth (Thursday, November 27 25 11:16 am EST)

  I just have to point out here. His family did free holiday meals and gave away free food for a decade when they had the restaurant on Pleasant Street. Seems your attempt at any point here is a far stretch. Why don't you walk in and see the food instead of complain nobody turned a camera. You really sound like a brick.

• Alex (Thursday, November 27 25 11:11 am EST)

  Do your homework as this same bullshit over and over again is really getting old. A lady in Claremont just got sued over this same thing. Hiding behind a fake name didn't help her. The building has been remediated and the documents that are public showing the source of a plume concentrated at a lot identified in public files as Sweet Fire BBQ is being handled by the State of NH which, is also handling anything crossing the public street and on public property which would make the city a responsible party. Just because no one offered you a hard hat to be involved in the process doesn't mean it grants you the ability to post false information. Mr. Koloski does not own the property that is Topstone. Mr. Koloski is not receiving any tax breaks and his family business is not involved. I would caution you from continuing to state otherwise. Mr. Sullivan harboring this would be equally liable.

• Frantastic (Thursday, November 27 25 10:54 am EST)

  people who are responsible for their mess and clean it up = good
  
  people who are responsible for toxic mess, use it to get tax breaks, don't clean it up, and try to whitewash with free food (how hard is it to turn the phone around really dude) = bad
  
  just clean up your mess dude. all this guy lived out of state, guy couldn't pay taxes, you'r an a-hole for commenting. bla bla bla. its your mess, CLEAN IT UP. everytime there is a toxic mess, it makes more and more problems. who knows who gets sick, what water it drains into, etc.
  
  CLEAN UP YOUR MESS

• Fran (Thursday, November 27 25 10:33 am EST)

  I once got a cold from a party I never went to states away because a gas station had fuel in tanks under the ground.
  
  Happy Thanksgiving
  
  Free food = Good
  Things I have no understanding of but comment on = Bad

• toxins can cause strokes genius steve (Thursday, November 27 25 10:00 am EST)

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9996470/
  
  not helping your case

• Clean Water (Thursday, November 27 25 09:55 am EST)

  i dont know all the facts. explain rather than call people names.
  
  but its a toxic site. it has been known about for years. there is a website about it. but no clean up.
  
  thats all i need to know. people live next door. people eat there. there are other businesses around. animals live in the woods. kids play nearby. we all pay when they dont pay to clean it up.
  
  more, though. its a f'ing restaurant. you might be cool with it. i'm not. i like my food and toxins as far apart as possible. no link to it being safe. but even if some government lackey said it was, would you bet your life on it being safe, do you want to take a chance? just clean it up and move on. whoever is responsible. the raccoons didnt make it toxic. whoever owns it cleans it up.
  
  again. nick is great guy for free food. ill say it 100 more times before we are over.

• Jake (Thursday, November 27 25 09:44 am EST)

  The free food you speculate is not real because you didn't personally see a photo?
  
  The toxic site you personally have no knowledge or what has or has not been done?
  
  The owner you speculate about alluding to how he fell ill?
  
  The food you wonder if its safe?
  
  I just want to be clear here.
  
  You seem like an asshole for sure dude.

• Not AI (Thursday, November 27 25 09:23 am EST)

  How many times do i got to say i voted for the guy. and he's good for giving food. better than me. said it again.
  
  but: ''hazardous building materials throughout the building' that was 2018. raise your hand if you were in the building since then without knowing.
  
  i dont get what you say. if the well is the problem and it Claremont's or the bbq joint or some one else's, clean it up and make them pay. simple. why the decade of drama. whoever is the problem, they CLEAN IT UP.
  
  i dont know if the problem is claremont, the stroke guy [if he can't pay, sell the property. i got to pay my bills when im sick], the building owners, kolski, the state, or santa clause. whoever has the liability should clean it up yesterday. known about for years. why give all those tax giveaways. should have said you get tax giveaway AFTER cleanup. if not, should have auctioned the thing off to someone willing to clean up toxic mess. Where does it say its safe? show me government site,
  
  how many times does governement say this or that is safe? then everyone gets sick. look at the 911 responder stuff. if its toxic clean it up NOW. Maybe priority over food. current owner wont clean, sell it someone who will. Tax breaks because its toxic mess, but then they dont clean it up. at least make tax break conditional.
  
  but again so everyone don't get pissed. good guy for the free food

• Steve (Thursday, November 27 25 08:36 am EST)

  Wonderful AI. I have to weigh in here as you are going after a local business and property owner. There is a full file available online and it was highlighted during a walk through of the City by environmental consultants. I was on that walking tour with the Department of Environmental Services and 50 other guests. A large list of publicly accessed properties were highlighted and their remediation. Topstone was one. What do you think the purchase of an environmental study is for by a property owner? A study is to identify items to be remediated as development of those areas occur. I happen to know the owner who fell ill. He suffered a massive stroke if it is any of your business. He lives in Burlington, Vermont if you want to visit him. He managed many properties including 3 for my firm. He managed from Burlington and does not occupy each building in the holdings. Your speculation is harmful and tries to paint a false narrative. If you are truly interested in truth take a look at the plume DES located under Sweet Fire BBQ that has been identified as the source of the ground monitoring well you allude to at the Topstone property. That well is located on City land at the foot of Park Avenue according to the publicly available map on the DES website that I just looked at. Your speculation would suggest Koloski holds power over the State and local authorities to operate in hazardous conditions. Those conditions do not exist but using your logic Sweetfire must have ultimate authority as it truly sits above chemicals at hazardous levels. You are barking up the wrong tree. Spend your Thanksgiving in a more positive manner. Perhaps when you are critiquing Koloski's post you pay attention a bit more.

• response (Thursday, November 27 25 06:48 am EST)

  arcgis.com:
  
  'In 2018, a Phase II ESA was performed that identified hazardous building materials throughout the building, and a significant plume of PCE in groundwater at the upgradient edge of the property. The Site was referred to the New Hampshire DES for additional off-site investigation to determine the source of the PCE and investigation is ongoing. The Site building was recently redeveloped for use as a restaurant and indoor golf course.'
  
  'hazardous building materials throughout the building'
  
  The building had tax problems when the owner got sick. I dont know what kind of sick, but think about it.
  
  If Koloski is giving away food to people who need it. thank you. thank him. we need more of that. but like why have a video of your face while you claim to be looking at the food. show the food.
  
  most tho prove food is safe. scares the toxic piss out of me. read epa.
  
  then you got the former fuel thing. also epa says toxic. and koloski wants to put outdoor dining there. dude, 80 % of Claremont storefront is vacant. isn't there nontoxic (sorry if sludge isnt right word) place for restaurant?
  
  wish all happy thanksgiving. including nic and fam. I VOTED FOR GUY. if kolski is giving food to those need. good good good. other pics show food. good. dont understand restaurant in toxic building.
  
  sorry too many paragraphs. not flex. full answers. not by jim.

• Liz (Thursday, November 27 25 05:21 am EST)

  The weird flex is spending all that time writing all those paragraphs talking out your rear. As someone who has picked up food when my family needed it, I would know there is plenty. Very nice spreading lies on here. Toxic sludge is proved otherwise from online public state documents which are at your fingertips. This is what this page does? On Thanksgiving you go after a guy and his family for giving away food? What a class act. Jim Sullivan, harboring a post like that can get you sued. Don't believe it, ask a local blogger.

• Food (Wednesday, November 26 25 08:30 pm EST)

  Nicholas Koloski, huh? Seems like a decent enough guy. He got the highest vote total in the election, but for some reason, people on this page aren’t fans. can someone explain it?
  
  Yeah, he gives away food and tries to help people. That’s great… except it kinda feels like a show. How can tell? He makes a video listing all the items while staring at the camera the whole time instead of actually showing the stuff. Like, dude, if you’re giving food away, just show the food. Weird flex Still, if he’s really doing it, good. You don't see the food once. If a guy says on fb he's giving away food and you never see it, did he really? If someone has checked this out lmk. maybe saying more food than is really their?
  
  And the Grill… man, I just don’t get it. Nick spends more time on TV talking about how it’s built on a toxic waste dump than actually running the place. Who’s lining up to eat on a toxic dump? Even the people coming for free food must be thinking, “Hmm… cancer or hunger?” I get he gets like a tax writeoff or something because of the toxic waste but like maybe keep it on the dl? why do they let the place be on a toxic waste site? does the health inspector everyone keeps talking about know? do i need to hold my nose when i drive by. forget the restaurant i just dont get why we have a toxic site in town and dont do anything about it.
  
  Inside, sure, it looks cool. probably the nicest interior in Claremont. But yeah, maybe that ambiance comes with a side of medical risk? Dude, like maybe just clean up the toxic waste or move the restaurant? did they know about the waste when they built it? Didnt the city have the chance to take th building for free and said no thx, we dont want the toxic waste? i just do not understand.
  
  Reviews? Brutal. The number of people who at there an hour once and left is amazing. The food reviews are all over the place. You spend money making the place look nice, but can’t hire decent staff or someone who has made food elsewhere? Half the town’s out of work. come on.
  
  But if the guy is really giving away food, someone let me know. if so decent dude. I'd vote for him again if he really does give away free food. can you just clean up the waste tho? And then hire someone who can server a table in a timely manner. it would be best place in claremont if they got reviews up and proved they cleaned up the sludge. like imagine a sign "all new management. all sludge gone! heres a webcam of all free food" id give that a try.

• Mark (Wednesday, November 26 25 03:35 pm EST)

  I had health inspector come out about my neighbor trash and vehicles and he got them correct. They are a good tool to have as long as you get the right one.

• Citizen (Wednesday, November 26 25 03:30 pm EST)

  City ordinance can tell what’s allowed and not allowed. Contact the inspector and city planner and they can inspect the property.

• J Dubbs (Wednesday, November 26 25 02:20 pm EST)

  Shut up retard
  
  Move
  This is my neighbor hood now

• Owner next to trash on sugar river (Wednesday, November 26 25 11:47 am EST)

  I’ve lived on sugar river dr my whole life and what a shame the two disgusting properties they have become. Rats, trash,smell and all drugs that are there are disgusting. Really need to get this all cleaned up!

• Visitor center (Tuesday, November 25 25 06:53 pm EST)

  Reach out to Amanda at the visitor center with a complaint and will send the inspector out.

• Henry (Tuesday, November 25 25 05:06 pm EST)

  I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!

• Jeff (Tuesday, November 25 25 04:34 pm EST)

  If you need help with anything or have a problem with the city email this guy. He’s very good. I found his info on the city website.
  
  Nicholas Koloski
  Councilor, At Large
  
  (603) 543-7570
  
  Contact Nicholas (nkoloski@council.claremontnh.com)

• Neighborhood clean up (Tuesday, November 25 25 03:38 pm EST)

  Who do I reach out to about the shit hole property on sugar river drive? There at least two with camper and junk everywhere.

• Resale (Tuesday, November 25 25 02:07 pm EST)

  Resale Windsor
  
  I just found a few dead bed bugs in a bag of clothes that was donated. The bag IMMEDIATELY went outside in the trash. If I find any more I will shut this place down and be done with it. There is no way someone doesn't know about a bed bug infestation in their home. Then to donate things knowing I have a family and that these things will go home to other families. No. I wish I knew who it was that brought this bag in. This really is not okay. People lose EVERYTHING and their homes over those bugs. I do not care if they were dead. I've learned so much having this store. No one cares anymore. Thrift stores and secondhand stores are just trash receptacles to a lot of people. It's a shame. It's why stores don't stick around. No one wants to be open and unappreciated for all of their hard work that they do to be open. All the money spent on that trash you keep bringing them. Stop tearing down the listen center. I can only imagine how much they spend on trash removal. I see one of the reasons why they try to get the most out of donated items.
  
  And before anyone asks, I've seen bedbugs quite a few times in my lifetime, and these absolutely were it. This is why inspect every item before it goes out. Those could have gone completely missed

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, November 24 25 06:51 pm EST)

  Paul, there is no marketing budget for the Police Department. Looking at their budget the only line item that has enough funds within it to pay the invoices for those videos that would fit that kind of expenditure would be Consulting Services.

• Paul (Monday, November 24 25 06:33 pm EST)

  Mr. Sullivan where do I find the Police Marketing budget? I am not certain which line in the budget covers paying for videos for area non profits? I struggle to pay my tax bill and it appears we are so frugal with our tax dollars citywide that we can afford to keep paying for videos that have nothing to do with the police department using those funds. Cut the waste. We donate what we are able as a family and it seems my tax money is doing the same. I struggle to understand after watching cctv budget sessions where this money comes from. Which line? I want to write my councilors once I find it. Thank you sir.

• Tom (Monday, November 24 25 05:33 pm EST)

  Are you saying we are finally losing Mr. Ford!! This is best news today.

• Outsider (Monday, November 24 25 05:19 pm EST)

  Welcomed addition is right. Is it ok to use the rhythm method when you are…you know…visitor centering around
  It’s too bad everything that Merrill built is in shambles after only a few months

• Insider (Monday, November 24 25 10:44 am EST)

  The “welcomed addition to Claremont municipal government” is the newest person to leave

• Popcorn (Monday, November 24 25 10:12 am EST)

  What did they catch?

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, November 23 25 04:08 pm EST)

  Six new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) More surprises during the SAU #6 meeting!
  
  2) Non-Public meeting minutes offers a vague insight into what was discussed by the SAU #6 School Board on November 13, 2025.
  
  3) School Updates.
  
  4) SAU #6 Update.
  
  5) Former Claremont Middle School Teacher granted suspended sentence plea deal for allegedly stalking a student!
  
  6) November 12, 2025 Claremont City Council meeting synopsis.

• Citizen (Sunday, November 23 25 01:49 pm EST)

  You’ve got nothing to worry about if your wife is the HR director

• I’m very Sorry for what I’ve done (Sunday, November 23 25 12:50 pm EST)

  They caught us at the visitor center. What is reccomended for situations like this? Talk to HR about your wrong doing or just hope it all blows over?

• Information Technology (Sunday, November 23 25 07:34 am EST)

  No, there are 11 people total.

• bystander (Sunday, November 23 25 07:28 am EST)

  11 people seems wrong - i feel like there is more, no?

• Information technology (Sunday, November 23 25 07:03 am EST)

  You morons that don’t use a VPN, we know there are 11 total people that post on this site. 6 of them come from the city ip addresses on work computers. 1/2 of all internet traffic to this site comes from the visitor center

• Lovalette Sucks (Saturday, November 22 25 05:34 pm EST)

  Where is Lovalette? He was all about answering questions until someone asked him one.
  
  Don't like the Sullivan Report. Go to Facebook. Don't like Facebook. Go to your favorite social media platform. Don't like social media, set up your own website.
  
  But telling people they need to show up at some barn at on undisclosed time to vet you as a candidate is just BS. We're going to do that for every candidate? Who has time for that.
  
  Just another disappointment. Only cares about unions.

• Outsider (Saturday, November 22 25 02:17 pm EST)

  Yes, there was only one person working at the visitor cent. On Friday afternoon
  It’s a dire situation
  Drove by and one car in the lot

• DPW insider (Friday, November 21 25 10:31 pm EST)

  Two DPW workers plan on quitting next week. Who will plow the roads this winter? The city manager and strong mayor?

• Bob (Friday, November 21 25 05:43 pm EST)

  Who quit?

• Insider (Friday, November 21 25 04:44 pm EST)

  Another person gone from the planning office

• Not Loving Lovalette (Thursday, November 20 25 10:38 pm EST)

  Im not loving Lovalette. Just complaining about paperwork and heather and frank being corrupt. Everyone knows they are corrupt. We saw the corrupt backroom deal live on CCTV. How about a plan for fixing the schools? Or answering questions? Or proving youre not just out to enrich the unions.

• Ramirez (Thursday, November 20 25 11:43 am EST)

  I’ll do it. I’ll do the job of inspector

• petrin' in the meetin' (Thursday, November 20 25 04:32 am EST)

  petrin did good last night. thought for himself. wasnt halfway hathaways lapdog. frank has some nerve complaining about the interns and hiring given his wife. waste of time on if claremont was a city

• Meeting Madness (Wednesday, November 19 25 09:06 pm EST)

  Frank was the only vote against the truancy duude. doesn't want to spend money on any new staff until he gets daughter on the payroll. wife is already on.

• Eyes on the Meeting (Wednesday, November 19 25 08:26 pm EST)

  Frank s unhappy that they hired the psych interns without advertising the position. but I don't hear him saying much about the Bluff secretary position being filed (by his wife!) without being advertised.
  
  Heather is trying to pull a Trump "autopen" move to invalidate the contracts, saying they were stamped and not signed.

• Former Health Inspector Keene (Wednesday, November 19 25 07:55 pm EST)

  Claremont does not require beard nets. Self inspecting cities can set their own rules and beard nets are optional. Hairnets are required if hair is longer then a certain length, but if it isn’t then they also aren’t required.

• Jim Allen (Wednesday, November 19 25 07:45 pm EST)

  Mr Lovalette,
  Please let us know when the organizational meeting at the barn is going to happen!
  I will volunteer for your campaign.
  
  Jim Allen
  Claremont, NH

• Mommy (Wednesday, November 19 25 06:49 pm EST)

  What you’ll talking about the inspector just signs off on inspection and it shows. Have you seen the restaurant. Half of them should honestly be shutdown

• Watching Live (Wednesday, November 19 25 06:44 pm EST)

  I don't like that Don Lavalette isn't engaging with voters on social media.
  
  I love the fact that Don Lavalette showed up at the meeting and called out Heather and Frank on their BS.

• Daddy (Wednesday, November 19 25 06:23 pm EST)

  ya they should have beard net and hair restraint while jnpexting
  An proper hygiene
  The state will take over soon

• Tim (Wednesday, November 19 25 02:36 pm EST)

  I even saw the city health inspector walk into a restaurant and have no hair or bread net on while were eating.

• Insider (Wednesday, November 19 25 02:31 pm EST)

  They aren’t trained or qualified
  Let all kinds of stuff go
  The state has no choice anymore

• Andrew (Wednesday, November 19 25 02:27 pm EST)

  Claremont has 2 health inspectors im sure they aren’t that busy

• Chris (Wednesday, November 19 25 02:25 pm EST)

  I was told the state won’t take over anymore cause Claremont a self inspecting city and Claremont needs to handle there own.

• Insider (Wednesday, November 19 25 01:55 pm EST)

  Who cares. The state is going to take over the food inspection

• Tina (Wednesday, November 19 25 01:44 pm EST)

  Who is the health officer for Claremont?

• Bid watcher (Wednesday, November 19 25 08:13 am EST)

  The city bid page is interesting when it is actually updated. How come there is no video marketing projects bid out? As a content creator I am curious how videos are being created by city departments and it didn't go out to bid. Did we miss the opportunity? Our company provides video services and would have submitted a bid. As a taxpayer it irritates me not seeing it posted and as a business it angers me to not have the chance. Where do I find the contract? The Police Department here must be cash flush if it keeps paying for videos for other non profits in the area. I must be rich enough not to care that my taxdollars are spent by the city for marketing for the American Legion and Soup Kitchen. Both great places so don't get me wrong. They are just able to get those services as a courtsey as a non profit with several online platforms. I am just trying to figure out why my tax payments are paying for these. Who's call is this? The council? What will be next? Perhaps, the Police Department budget can make a marketing video for Claremont Speedway.

• Gee Reynolds (Wednesday, November 19 25 06:11 am EST)

  How many beard hairs are in my pizza? Count them.

• Jaylee (Tuesday, November 18 25 07:16 pm EST)

  No body cares about the dang hookers on the sidewalk. Blue hair and everything. And I can get into no damn homeless shelter, to full. Got them damn bed bugs

• Call me - Andrea (Tuesday, November 18 25 05:57 pm EST)

  Yeah the “health” office don’t know to have folks wear beard nets. Every man at a prep station droppin mad beard fuzz in the foods around Clam-town
  I miss DONK from the old forum days

• Visiter center staff leaks $ moles (Tuesday, November 18 25 05:53 pm EST)

  Sick sick sick
  Yall are so morons
  This is insane
  What’s next? Jim releases the frickin visitor center files??

• Citizen (Monday, November 17 25 03:57 pm EST)

  Where do we sogn

• Sarah (Monday, November 17 25 09:58 am EST)

  Is there one being circulated?

• Mark (Monday, November 17 25 09:25 am EST)

  Petition to remove city planner and building inspector for not keeping the city safe and being unqualified for the job

• Tom (Monday, November 17 25 09:03 am EST)

  More BS from city officials

• Citizen (Monday, November 17 25 09:00 am EST)

  Greenrose, kolowski, Matteau, Hemingway were all at the ribbon cutting. Along with city staff member and someone from the chamber I spoke with all of them - so your information is incorrect.

• Steve (Monday, November 17 25 05:41 am EST)

  I watched the entire Raven House ribbon-cutting video and only Mayor Girard was present. The person who recorded the video panned the entire room and only Mayor Girard was there. No other city councilors, the city manager or planning department staff to wish these new business owners well and welcome them to the Claremont business community. These people do not care about Claremont.

• Jim Sullivan (Monday, November 17 25 05:23 am EST)

  You are right about me not allowing advertising. I just saw it and deleted it.

• Capitalism (Monday, November 17 25 12:50 am EST)

  It was only a matter of time before advertisers showed up here. Jim: maybe its time to pull a Kipp and ban advertising unless you get a cut.

• Claremont cares (Sunday, November 16 25 06:19 pm EST)

  Yes but he is claremont cares liberal run by the fat fuck Nelson and looser Raymond allison and queif i mean Keith

• DeRosa for School Board (Sunday, November 16 25 05:52 pm EST)

  He definitely has financial experience.

• DeRosa for Council? (Sunday, November 16 25 05:25 pm EST)

  Do we no need to elect Kevin DeRosa to the council and state house?

• Rim Job Construction (Sunday, November 16 25 05:24 pm EST)

  Why is planet fitness using the wrong kind of plywood for their sign? This is very concerning and will fail in the coming years and cause issues. What planning/inspector approved this for a public building. This is so concerning to me.

• Touche (Sunday, November 16 25 03:22 pm EST)

  Sunlight. That is some of the dumbest shit I have read as a reply to anyone or anything on this page ever, and that says a bunch. Good one.

• Sunlight (Sunday, November 16 25 02:50 pm EST)

  Shadow: right on. if only rick had attended the opening of a store in claremont then our roads would be fixed, our schools wouldn't have a funding crisis, student test scores would rocket from the bottom to the top of the state, our poverty rate would plummet, and city employees would stop leaving in mass. how selfish of rick to not attend
  
  maybe it would be better if rick or the councilors had a job that he was at in the middle of the day to give them a fighting chance to have money to buy a guitar at the shop, or anything anywhere else in the city

• Shadow (Sunday, November 16 25 02:07 pm EST)

  "Rick" see where the problem is? It is people like you. Did you attend the ribbon cutting for Ravenhouse? I can already tell you the answer to that. If you did you would have seen the Assistant Mayor, Koloski, Hemingway and Greenrose present. So perhaps you meant to state the mayor was present in the photo and ribbon but the council members were not. Simple answer, not everything is a photo opp unless you are some asshole here if thinks everything is about themselves. Leave your armchair sometime before talking shit. So they all attended mid day on Friday for free to celebrate a business opening. Again, you did not.

• Can we have one good school board candidate? (Sunday, November 16 25 01:00 pm EST)

  Don Lavalette: If you don’t want to answer questions on an anonymous internet forum, that’s your choice. Although you did come here on your own in the first place.
  
  If you’d prefer to only deal with people using their real names, you can go over to WUC or WRUC on Facebook and hold a Q&A. Most of the City Council candidates did exactly that. A good fraction of the town is on there. Or create your own campaign site.
  
  But having the town tell you what their concerns are and then saying people need to show up in person at a meeting to ask questions, that’s not going to win my vote.
  
  John J. O’Connor: Sure, there are trolls here. But a lot of people read these forums. Making a case online is much more effective than hoping voters show up to a school board meeting on a weekday evening early.

• Mayor McReality (Sunday, November 16 25 12:29 pm EST)

  Mayor McCheese: This isn’t a tv show where everything gets fixed with small-town cheer and a Christmas tree lighting.
  
  If you want to argue that Claremont’s problems aren’t rooted in weak economic fundamentals, then point to a city with similar demographics, a similar business base, and similarly limited development that doesn’t face the same issues.
  Towns like Berlin, Franklin, Laconia, and Newport all have similar economic profiles and problems. They each have the remnants of industries that once anchored the local economy but later left and they struggle with many of the same challenges we do.
  
  On the other side, show me a city with strong economic development that still has Claremont-level problems.
  Look at Hanover, Amherst, Portsmouth. They have people who complain online too and don't participate in local community, but they still have great services and are a great place to live and raise a family because they have resources and an economic base.

• Secret Fan (Sunday, November 16 25 11:19 am EST)

  Jeff,
  Say it isn’t true!
  Wheee will we get our technology guidance from…

• Mayor McCheese (Sunday, November 16 25 11:07 am EST)

  Rick, grow up. Most think the problem is a lack of growth, investment, or jobs. JIM thinks ots the elected council and everyone that works for the city......But that’s not the problem at all. The real issue is that most people believe they live in a community that isn’t worth caring about, so they don’t. They don’t get involved, they don’t show up, they don’t shop local, they don’t pick up trash, and they don’t bother to make things look nice. All those little signs of apathy add up. It’s toxic for communities and devastating for the people who live in them. It drags down every business, every school, every hospital, and every local institution. It weakens the economy and it stifles the spirit of the place.
  
  You think its council not listening to you on Facebook or on the Sullivan report?!? Are you hanging out with Tetu? You , Jim and all the internet troll bitch'n rather than doing are the problem.
  
  Blah, blah...
  Standard response = chase growth. add jobs, build subdivisions, recruit Starbucks, and invite. Those things might not be bad, but none of them change how you or other residents feel about their town.
  
  The real challenge is figuring out how to take people who don’t care and pass the blame on others , like you & Jim, and help them care a little bit more. When you start to look at it through that lens, you realize why the usual approaches fail. They were never designed to fix a problem of care and concern. Once you understand that bitch'n is comunication then you can start having meaningful conversations woth those who are not listening to you.
  
  Apathy is the real challenge, but we treat it like a money problem. I bet you think think a new employer, some fresh investment, or a few cheap developments will save us. But those quick fixes don’t make people care more. They often make things worse. They pull wealth and ownership out of the community and reinforce the idea that local effort doesn’t matter.
  
  If you want people to care, focus on what actually makes them care. Human connection. Identity. Ownership. Beauty. People care about other people, so create ways for them to connect. They care about identity, what their town stands for, what it’s overcome, what makes it special. They care about ownership, supporting businesses run by people they know, in buildings that belong to the community. And they care about beauty, because when a town looks better, people feel better. A more attractive place leads to more attractive behavior. Pride follows.
  
  If half of the effort from the readers of this forum was directed to the above we would be moving towards what we all need. A better Claremont.
  
  You can’t hire your way to civic pride. You can’t franchise your way to belonging. If you want a thriving town, make it easier for people to care about where they live. Public negativity drains progress. Focus your efforts on building a place people would never dream of leaving. Forget the forum for a bit and ask yourself one question: do people care about this place they call home? If the answer is no, figure out what might help them care more. Then do that. Do it again. Tell council about it, And again. After a few years of that, go back and look. You’ll see they finally moved in the right direction. Because bitch'n doesn't lead.

• Rick (Sunday, November 16 25 09:36 am EST)

  Now that the election is over the city councilors have returned to their old ways. Only the mayor attended the ribbon cutting for the Raven House. The city councilors will continue to ignore us for two more years. They got what they wanted from the public; their vote.

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, November 16 25 07:47 am EST)

  Four new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) North Street closed Monday, November 17.
  
  2) School Update
  
  3) Que the Claremont City Council Power Grab just days after the election!
  
  4) Sting

• Mushy (Saturday, November 15 25 04:37 pm EST)

  Let's hear from Jimmy how bad our inspectors are. He's got them all over his apartment. I bet the new owner doing the renovations on factory st would drop some reality. Let's hear how bad they are and get them out.

• John J. O’Connor (Saturday, November 15 25 02:15 pm EST)

  Don,
  Save your breath and time, the people on this site have absolutely zero political influence.
  No answer will be a good answer and every answer will lead to more stupid questions so save yourself the frustration.

• Don Lavalette (Saturday, November 15 25 12:21 pm EST)

  Happy to answer questions from those willing to use their real names. Scrolling through the posts it looks like only John and Sully provide their names. Please note I don’t maintain an online presence and tend to limit my internet time.
  Also plan to arrive early to the next board meeting to allow time to answer questions and the week after that I plan to grab a coffee at the Barn and welcome those who want to meet and ask questions. Day and time to come.
  Don

• Ford (Saturday, November 15 25 05:47 am EST)

  Why is big lots allowed to use the wrong plywood.

• Mixed News (Saturday, November 15 25 12:24 am EST)

  Good on Loren for calling out the $4500 spent on communication consultants. Apparently they have been billing us to watch the board meetings. And to think the rest of us have been doing that for free. but hes still in my doghouse for voting for the corrupt deal to bring back Frank tho.
  
  Good on Frank for pointing out that school employees haven't been paying the share of insurance. bad on Frank and the rest of 'em for letting that happen for so long. course, Frank probably knew about it because his wife wasnt paying what she should of had to.
  
  Good on Angell for proposing a modest contract for himself when he could have gotten more for himself. he appears to be smarter, hardworking and more decent then 99% of the rest of them. but wish he'd put more effort into his financial presentations. still not sure he has figured out where everything is

• Be Better Than The Board (Friday, November 14 25 03:33 am EST)

  Jim,
  
  You expose the rot like no one else—thank you. And I, for one, appreciate it.
  
  This week, though, how about leading with the Stevens girls’ soccer team winning state? First title since the 1980s, in spite of the (disgraced) school boards complete defunding of the team. The whole town’s damn proud.
  
  Or if soccer isn't your thing, in the holiday spirit before the end of the year maybe find one small, honest good thing in Claremont that warms your heart and run it up top.
  
  We’ll know it’s still your voice. Then go right back to exposing the corruption.
  
  Do it and I’ll personally petition to rename the county in your honor.

• Eric (Thursday, November 13 25 07:20 pm EST)

  Planning and development is a joke anymore. Rude women, unqualified inspector and a joke of a planner. That office use to be great when Merrill ran it but now no leadership and credibility to that office.

• Insider (Thursday, November 13 25 01:26 pm EST)

  Oh boy, here we go again with the wife swapping. Sick freaks

• Sound of Silence (Wednesday, November 12 25 08:23 pm EST)

  Public: I have some concerns about Lavalette.
  Lavalette: That's not fair. Let me clear things up, I'll answer any question anyone has.
  Public: Great! Here are some questions ...
  Lavalette: [crickets]

• Juicy apples Yoshi (Wednesday, November 12 25 07:52 pm EST)

  Non public at city council meeting tonight is gonna be juicy!!

• Silent Genius? (Wednesday, November 12 25 02:19 pm EST)

  Everyone makes fun of petrin for not saying much. but he voted for the corrupt bargain, and hasn't gotten 1/100 th the amount of crap for it that heather whitney got. Seems like the real genius. Bill also voted for it. I kind of like bill's independent spirit, digging into things on his own and calling bs. i hope he leans independent and not align with either of the good ole boy clubs. voting for frank was was not a good sign

• Reality (Wednesday, November 12 25 01:32 pm EST)

  to be fair to chris, every single candidate ran on a platform of 'blanket statements and buzzwords with no substance'. And they were the same blanket statements and buzzwords for every single candidate! needs vs. wants, lower taxes, more efficient government, transparency, etc.

• Keith Raymonds Handler (Wednesday, November 12 25 01:25 pm EST)

  Let me get this straight — you said yes to running, then had a committee made up of former councilors and self-described “non-partisan” Democrats create your flyers and signs for you. You haven’t even been sworn in yet, but you’re already offering people a playbook on how to run for council? The next election is over 2 years from now.
  
  You barely scraped a win, haven’t attended a single training or orientation for boards and commissions, yet now you’re suddenly a pro-level expert on campaigning and governance? And your platform for advice is The Sullivan Report?
  
  From everything I saw during your campaign, it was all blanket statements and buzzwords with no substance. But now you’re positioning yourself as the voice of experience? Please.

• Cogswell (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:39 pm EST)

  Other Anon,
  People running who aren't qualified is just part of the process. It's a part we may not like, and the fact that they get so many votes is concerning, but it is what it is. But I prefer it to being left with two completely unappealing choices, which is what often happens in a two party system controlled by the rich and out of touch. We are a democracy. I understand the concern, but I trust the citizens to get it right most of the time if the system isn't rigged against them.
  
  The guide is a means to allow truly independent people to run for office, which I think is a good thing. Power shouldn't be vested only in those with the money or knowledge to manipulate the system.

• Pepto Plus (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:37 pm EST)

  Damien Fisher is the only person covering the school stuff for NH Journal. He has a conservative bias. Frank and Heather are in the conservative camp, which is why they get quoted all the time in his articles. (which is why its so insane that howard gave them control) I'm not suggesting Damien is onboard or in cahoots with the heather frank style corruption. But he is very friendly with them and maybe doesn't want to upset the apple cart.
  
  Say what you want about Jim Sullivan, but he's doing 10 times deeper reporting than Damien. Damien is basically just summarizing meetings and press releases, with a quote from good ol Heather and Frank thrown in for good measure.

• Pepto please (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:25 pm EST)

  Valley News and NH Journal have been eerily silent about the Frank Sprague coup. I wonder if it is because Sprague is good old friends with the lot of em

• Another Anon (Wednesday, November 12 25 12:07 pm EST)

  Chris,
  
  While this is a an admirable effort, I have some reservations. It isn't hard to figure out how to run for city council. If someone can't figure out how to do that without a "running for council for dummies" guide, do you really think they are going to have the skills to be effective? We already have enough candidates that don't understand the basics of what the council can and can't do, and they get a shockingly high % of votes.

• Cogswell (Wednesday, November 12 25 11:06 am EST)

  Claremont,
  One thing that came up in this last election was that people didn't feel that they could easily get involved to be part of this process. And that is a shame. One of the best things about New Hampshire and the United States generally is our ability to take part in the political process and our history of everyday people working to make a difference.
  
  In the spirit of trying to improve the average citizens ability to get involved I'm creating a folder and documents on how to:
  1) Run for City Council and get involved in boards and commissions
  2) Create political groups to raise funds and promote candidates
  3) Attend meetings and make your voice heard
  
  You can find the folder below. If you'd like to help on the document creation please reach out to me and I will add you as an editor. My hope is that people from all political viewpoints can take part in this process and try to make the system as open and transparent as possible.
  
  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16I1eSxa-IuJSQCOO-poCA1A2iVAp3XKm?usp=drive_link

• the problem isnt the teacher (Wednesday, November 12 25 08:48 am EST)

  we need to demand the entire school board be sent packing they helped us into this mess or at the very least failed to warn us

• Union Schmunion (Wednesday, November 12 25 08:17 am EST)

  The absolute last thing this school board needs is anyone, ANYONE who has any ties to the evil teachers union or any other union. They have been fleecing us for years! They have unheard of benefits in SAU6 (they only pay 5% of their insurance premiums. This was set up back in the day because our salaries were out of whack and we needed something to attract and retain teachers. Those days are GONE. our salaries are competitive, our benefit package is still the most favorable to the teachers in the state. It is time to get back to the negotiation table and bring them back down to earth.

• Anon (Wednesday, November 12 25 05:21 am EST)

  Don,
  
  I don’t think anyone’s painting you as a “cartoonish mob boss.” People are expressing concerns that others share. That’s a gift. It’s your chance to understand where they’re coming from and shape your message accordingly.
  
  People are accusing the present board member of lots of things. And they aren't even bothering to show up to explain anything at all. That's also a gift.
  
  FWIW, I think Mr. Tyson would also be welcome if he wanted to join in the conversation here or in any of the platforms where Claremont politics are discussed.

• Eagle Eye (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:07 pm EST)

  At the last meeting, Whitney’s approach to calling votes raised some questions for me. She counted the affirmative votes for Lavalette but tried to not count the opposing ones, and later declined to call a vote for Tyson on the grounds that it wouldn’t pass. That’s not how procedure is supposed to work. She has called a million votes before and she has never done that. I'm going to pay close attention to how votes are handled going forward. I don't know her angel, but I don't trust her as far as I could throw her.

• Shane (Tuesday, November 11 25 09:05 pm EST)

  I wonder if a public document request for what fire inspections the chief is handling on his own might be in order. Who's the police commish here? I didn't know we had one.

• Neighbors (Tuesday, November 11 25 06:21 pm EST)

  Pam,
  
  I heard that the fire chief has even pulled his own inspector off the “good ole boys” cause he’s to hard on them. As a property owner I have multiple occasions with the fire inspector and he is nothing but fair and knowledgeable. The good ole boys know how to work the system and the fire chief will help them out but won’t help others out. Time for politics to get out of Claremont and let the people that we hire do there job regardless of friends or whatever!

• Pam (Tuesday, November 11 25 05:10 pm EST)

  Some things never seem to change in Claremont. While visiting the City’s Visitor Center recently to obtain a permit, I overheard a conversation about an incident at the Planning Office involving a member of the public and a city official (Inspector). From what was said, it appears the situation escalated to the point where police were called, and one of those involved may have been a sitting Police Commissioner and his partner.
  
  If that’s accurate, it raises serious questions about conduct, accountability, and whether certain individuals continue to benefit from an “old boys’ network” that undermines fairness in city operations. It’s also concerning to hear that the Fire Chief may now be self drawn into this matter, possibly under pressure to appease others rather than focus on public safety. Circumventing the inspection process.
  
  Situations like this contribute to the perception that Claremont struggles to retain qualified inspectors and other staff—not because of the work itself, but because of the internal politics surrounding it.
  
  Leadership should take these issues seriously. Transparency, consistent enforcement, and professional accountability are the only ways to restore public confidence in our departments and boards. It’s time for City Hall to take a closer look and ensure that personal connections never outweigh fairness and professionalism.
  
  Seems Insider is on to something. Mr. Sullivan you seem to be a sleep at the wheel.

• Curious Voter (Tuesday, November 11 25 04:07 pm EST)

  Mr. Lavalette, because of the recent screwups we’re in a spot where the pie’s too small to go around. Students, teachers, and taxpayers are all going to have to share the pain, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
  
  There’s a real concern, given your background, that you’ll lean toward the teachers and the union at the expense of everyone else. That might not be fair, but it’s something you need to address head on. My suggestion is to spend more time responding to that concern and less time talking about the history of Claremont. Wayne McElreavy only gets one vote.
  
  In response to your comments, give me one example of a teacher who was fired purely for being bad, based on teaching performance or test scores, not for bad behavior or clashing with admin. How long did it take to deal with the middle school teacher grooming a student? There were multiple public incidents while she was still employed. I know Henry and Pratt weren’t in your union, but how those cases played out is typical of what one does see in the union setting. Even when there’s clear evidence of serious misconduct, it takes forever to actually fire someone. In the real world, you’re gone as soon as the problem is found, not after endless due process or a sweetheart severance package.
  
  The union also pushes for contracts that make it impossible to do a midyear reduction in force. I get it, a teacher can’t easily find another job midyear. OK, but the same should apply the other way around. Teachers can walk out midyear with no consequence. That’s been a big problem this year, and it really screws over the schools.
  
  Same thing with the Bluff move, all this negotiation about timing, weekends, and process. In the real world, people just work things out with their employer when they’re in a bind. I get how contracts work, but at some point we need to look at how the rest of the world operates.
  
  That said, I’m pro-teacher. We should have higher expectations, teacher employment should look much more like real world employment, but the pay should match that.

• Insider (Tuesday, November 11 25 03:39 pm EST)

  I know too much and don’t want to be identified

• jim_sullivan1@comcast.net (Tuesday, November 11 25 02:02 pm EST)

  i'm not jim. but that is his email address. if there's a juicy scandal you know about, send him over some actionable intel for him to work from. longtime reader of the report

• Healthofficer@claremontnh.com (Tuesday, November 11 25 01:48 pm EST)

  Jim missing so much of the visitor center planning staff story. Dig deeper. Juicy scandal

• Hieronymoys Bosch (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:43 am EST)

  Bless you, Mr. Lavallette! We need to rest control of the school board from the true architects of disaster, rig Whitney and PETRIN. Also, Lauren Howard screwed people with his weak caving cravenly way of abstaining.

• Don Lavalette (Tuesday, November 11 25 10:10 am EST)

  Some clarification for the misinformed. I was elected to be the SREA. We had multiple years without a contract which caused us to hemorrhage good teachers. We worked our ass off to get a 3 year contract that brought substantial raises to our teachers.
  The UNION consists of ~150 teachers (circa 2014 when I retired). When I held meetings we would routinely have somewhere around 60-70 percent turnout. I wish we had that turnout in our school and city elections.
  During my tenure we had multiple scummy teachers lose their jobs. As a parent of kids and a taxpayer why on earth would I want to protect them? Getting rid of terrible teachers is easy, follow the contract and bad teachers will hang themselves.
  I’m not sure what the previous poster means about increasing bureaucracy. The SREA can’t mandate anything except following the contract. No different than buying a car or home. You wouldn’t want the bank to decide one day to violate the contract and jack your rates up unilaterally. The contract is negotiated between two parties.
  I’m saddened that I’m painted as some sort of cartoonish mob boss because I spent a couple of years as President of the SREA. Unlike some of the narcissistic people on the current board I don’t need the school board position to make myself complete, however, I’m going to run for election to the school board because I give a damn about what happens to the kids in this city.
  I look forward to campaigning and answering any questions that one has about me.
  Be well,
  Don

• can I exchange for a different size (Tuesday, November 11 25 12:34 am EST)

  Tyson’s neck deep in EFA Croydon libertarian stuff. Dont know if he personally wants to wreck public ed but plenty in that crowd legit do. Lavalette ran the teachers union. Schools are a mess because good teachers can make more doing anything else. Instead of fixing that, the union just pushes for more bureaucracy and makes it impossible to fire bad teachers. Just not the guy you want negotiating with the unions for you. Either could’ve surprised and been good, but it was the left’s nightmare vs the right’s. And Frank? Helped drive the bus into the ditch, quits, throws a public tantrum blaming everyone but himself. Then asks for his job back.

• Size XL hoody (Monday, November 10 25 09:45 pm EST)

  How is Frank the best of the three? He was head of the finance committee and was part of hiring Tempesta too. Christ, if you think he belongs on the board we are screwed.

• Thomas (Monday, November 10 25 07:01 pm EST)

  Why the city losing so many employees. Where do they go?
  Why do they leave

• just a reg t-shirt (Monday, November 10 25 01:40 pm EST)

  to be honest, Frank is probably the best of the three, although he is still awful. the backlash is over the process. you think we're corrupt in private? watch us be corrupt right out in the open! everyone who spoke was against it. they said it looked like a backroom deal, then grinned, stuck their middle figure up at the town, and did it anyway.

• Embroidered t-shirt size M (Monday, November 10 25 12:32 pm EST)

  He was very different from ol hatchet face. I agree, he is very disappointed.

• Willard's Ghost (Monday, November 10 25 12:24 pm EST)

  I'm sure old Willard is glad to be dead to not have to see what an embarrassment to this town Heather is.

• Inside job (Monday, November 10 25 11:49 am EST)

  Franks wife got the axe during the layoffs at the same meeting he decided to resign at. She’s back, so is he….

• Prefer a fleece vest over a t-shirt (Monday, November 10 25 10:05 am EST)

  Frankie back on the board means the old skunks have enough votes to suppress any info coming out. Maybe ol hatchet face will quit and take her cuck with her.

• Onesie for baby that needs better schools (Monday, November 10 25 04:23 am EST)

  "On the board"- tell us more. what was all of heather's "frank left for truly exceptional reasons". didn't he just want to distance himself from the decisions and point fingers at everyone else. if there is more someone please spill it. who are greg and marc?

• On the board (Monday, November 10 25 04:11 am EST)

  Leave franky alone
  Greg and Marc don’t need no puppet on the board anymore
  Doing their bidding
  The deadlock was orchestrated to give Frank time to come back
  A back room deal

• No t-shirt. Getting club logo tattooed to chest (Sunday, November 09 25 10:40 pm EST)

  It makes me sick to see the incredible talent show and the girls’ soccer team’s win, and then realize how little the school board cares about any of it. If it was up to them, we wouldn't have had either.
  
  They’re all either looking out for themselves or trying to play political games. Has a single person in the community said anything nice about bringing Frank back in that disgusting deal? Have they followed through at all on the transparency they promised?
  
  On behalf of the students, and the staff, and the teachers, and the parents, and the taxpayers:
  
  CLAREMONT SCHOOL BOARD GO FUCK YOURSELF

• Stone for School Board (Sunday, November 09 25 06:14 pm EST)

  Stone should run for School Board. Yes he is #1 city scumbag. On the other hand, his "girlfriends" are too young to be hired by the district, being high school students. So we won't have to worry about him pulling a Frank Sprague and putting them on the payroll.
  
  But, for the LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLLY, please elect someone new Claremont!

• Koloski for School Board (Sunday, November 09 25 05:12 pm EST)

  Has anyone thought about electing Koloski to the school board? I hear debts just magically disappear when he's involved.
  
  Put me down for a Hathaway and Sprague are corrupt t-shirt.

• Tank tops are an option? (Sunday, November 09 25 10:25 am EST)

  I missed that part about Ol Quitting Frank not wanting to compete. Not surprised, he’s going to his ass handed to him next election. He’s a scumbag.

• tank top please (Sunday, November 09 25 09:53 am EST)

  surprised heather hasn't sent the car salesman or her sisters over to fight her battles for her yet. then realized its sunday morning. probably hung over.
  
  Frank is a real piece of work. Favorite part is him saying he wanted to to rejoin, but wasn't willing to participate in a "competitive" process. sounds like his wife also is against getting a job in a "competitive" process.
  
  We deserve what we get if we reelect these people.

• Polo shirt size XL preferably (Sunday, November 09 25 09:22 am EST)

  John nailed it. Ol quitting Frank has revealed himself to be a scumbag.

• Embroidered shirts only. Print will fade before corruption (Sunday, November 09 25 08:48 am EST)

  Remember that frank was accusing everyone else of cronyism on WUC? And now he's back in some slimy deal, and his wife was immune to getting laid off, when everyone else was. Un-fucking-real.

• John J. O’Connor (Sunday, November 09 25 08:22 am EST)

  It’s time for the State to step in and dismantle the Claremont School board.
  Frank quit. When the shit finally hit the fan, shit Frank knew all about because his wife was a major part of the past administration, he tucked his tail and ran away.
  Now that most of the shit has been cleaned up and the heavy lifting is over, he wants to be reappointed.
  That’s a perfect example of “privilege”
  I said it before I’ll say it again.
  Everyone on the School Board should resign.

• Dues paying T-shirt member (Sunday, November 09 25 08:21 am EST)

  I heard someone has submitted a FOIA request for ALL emails of the CSB for the last 6 weeks. Person that requested them is not named Sullivan. See if anything greasy shows up.

• Size M prefers gray color shirt (Sunday, November 09 25 07:26 am EST)

  Nothing says corruption like bringing back Ol Quittin Frank. Dude literally has been there a decade and was on the Finance Committee. Nothing to see here folks.

• Club member size L (Sunday, November 09 25 07:22 am EST)

  I’m sure it will happen. Back when Dick Seaman was chair of school board his wife was hired to teach at Maple. Course she then taught at Unity where she quit during the middle of a lesson.

• Reader (who will take a size medium Tshirt) (Sunday, November 09 25 07:05 am EST)

  Has anyone checked if Sprague's daughter has also found her way onto the payroll? If she hasn't, anyone want to set an over/under on how long that takes for them to find her a job?

• Reader (Sunday, November 09 25 06:51 am EST)

  There's this old joke "I don't care what others say about you, you're a good guy." Well, you really aren't very popular with the people in charge of this town, but I do look forward all week to reading this report, and think many others do who don't admit it. It is a public service.
  
  The thing with Sprague and his wife is very fishy. Especially her getting the job at Bluff when there was a hiring freeze.
  
  Did you catch Madden saying something like "I thought this was all worked out". It seems there was even more going on behind the scenes than we know. Might be worth trying to get some of those emails.
  
  The partisanship is bad and getting worse. Remember Mike voted to send the vote to the council at last meeting. Then voted against it this meeting because of the thing with Sprague. Clearly some coordination with Whitney. But then Loren completely screwed over himself and his own side just to make a dumb point in the moment.
  
  Fellow citizens, please please please, vote all of these clowns out the first chance you get.

• T-shirts of all sizes available (Sunday, November 09 25 06:45 am EST)

  Ol hatchet-face violated alot of board policies. Funny how the ‘crats all voted for the Lavallette guy…he had a Trump flag flying in his yard all summer. Lmao

• Jim Sullivan (Sunday, November 09 25 06:22 am EST)

  Four new articles published today on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) Frank Sprague reappointed to the Claremont School Board!
  
  2) Three articles worth reading.
  
  3) It's about time!
  
  4) Is Nancy Bates about to be named Permanent City Manager?

• T-shirt Volume Discount (Sunday, November 09 25 02:07 am EST)

  Whitney's daughter went to Claremont Christian Academy. Nothing says you support the Claremont schools like refusing to send your own kid to them. That's why Whitney votes against funding anything and supported the Cryoden-type EFA guy on the board.
  
  I'm not in favor of making the city manager live here. But we need to make school board members send their own kids to the school.
  
  Don't worry, Common Man would never take her. They can't afford for five million bucks to go missing. Hope they are keeping an eye on the daughter.

• Can we get fleece jumpers, too? (Saturday, November 08 25 11:55 pm EST)

  That would drive the Common Man out of business quick. Having people have to look at her while they eat. Glad Petrin doesn't speak. Imagine having to listen to two of them. The meeting would still be going on.

• Citizens T-Shirt Club (Saturday, November 08 25 11:25 pm EST)

  I think she does. Mom belongs there with her. Perrin sits there without an original thought and spine.

• Enough citizens to start a club and get Tshirts (Saturday, November 08 25 11:10 pm EST)

  Doesn't her daughter wait tables at the Common Man? Hope she didn't pay for private school for that. But that would be about Heather's style. Thinks she's better than everyone else in town.

• Yet another citizen (Saturday, November 08 25 10:52 pm EST)

  Didn’t she send her kids to private school?

• Another Citizen (Saturday, November 08 25 10:39 pm EST)

  Ol Whitney doesn't like it when anyone other than her is talking. Meetings would probably be half as long if they cut out her endless bloviating.

• Citizen Kanye (Saturday, November 08 25 09:44 pm EST)

  Ol Whitney didn’t like it when that guy told her it was his turn to talk, not hers. He educated her about people quitting city council too.

• Whitney Sucks (Saturday, November 08 25 09:04 pm EST)

  Can't stand Heather. Her FB is all about Israel. Got a giant Israel flag for her profile pic. WTF? Maybe spend some time caring about this city and country, please? Did you run to represent Claremont or Israeli? Whitney votes against spending money on anything in Claremont. Fiscal conservative, you don't want to spend money? Good. But then she goes and supports sending billions to a foreign government.
  
  "F U Claremont, no money for you! but we'll keep those tax dollars and send them Israel" exactly what you want in your local politician.

• H (Saturday, November 08 25 03:44 pm EST)

  Watch that smug Heather Hathaway / Whitney / Havey / whoever she's shacked up with this week? No thanks.
  
  Does everyone realize her brother is that scumbag Marc Hathaway that let every murdering drunk driver, pedo, drug dealer, thief, off with a slap on the wrist. POS would take any deal possible to not have to do his job and take criminals to trial.
  
  The family is a blight on this community. Marc destroyed the community by keeping the murdering drunk drivers on the roads, the criminals on the streets, and the perverts out of jail and near our children. Now his sister, Heather, is doing all she can to destroy the schools.

• Citizen Kane Reply (Saturday, November 08 25 02:32 pm EST)

  WTF are you talking about? I can't find anything on WUC bout this. Nelson hasn't posted since August. Include a link for Fs sake.

• George (Saturday, November 08 25 09:53 am EST)

  Are newly elected city council members allowed to boss around city DPW workers until they are sworn in?

• Mary Conifer (Saturday, November 08 25 09:33 am EST)

  I got my snep today. I at Markat Baskat buying chips and sodaz. Thank you Trump God blez you!

• Wayne (Saturday, November 08 25 09:07 am EST)

  Did you know that when you're dead, you don't know you're dead. All of the pain is felt by others.
  
  The same thing happens when your stupid.
  
  You can't blame some people for transgressions. They can't feel the consequences of their actions.

• Smedley Butler (Saturday, November 08 25 08:01 am EST)

  Word is Tetu threw a hissy fit at council, passing the blame onto WUC and it's influence over voters for the NO vote to his revenge plot. It's wild how close this Claremont cares supported subversion came to passing. Mr. T. and his cohorts did an amazing job at fooling fools into thinking that if they opened that Pandora's box form of governance they alone could control it.
  I want to thank Jim Sullivan for publishing the list of residences who signed the petition so the rest of Claremont has a true glimps at who fall under the categories of gullible, foolish or malice.

• Citizen Kane (Saturday, November 08 25 07:30 am EST)

  Please be sure to view the school board meeting clip posted by Josh Nelson. It is the portion that was not seen live. Many have reposted but easy to find in WUC , find the discussion post about Frank Sprague.

• Marry Conifer (Friday, November 07 25 10:39 pm EST)

  Bro why am I not geeting snap? I need food to eat. I gut a box and it included weid stuf I dont eat. Can anyone gave me soda and chips. That whet I eat. Thenk u

• Bill (Friday, November 07 25 01:45 pm EST)

  Why does Claremont over pay there employees?
  There employees are about as dumb as they get. Hiring people for way more then they are worth and paying a manager that’s clued way to much!
  
  Just a thought about how to help save on rising taxes.

• Peas in a Pod? (Friday, November 07 25 12:34 pm EST)

  What's the connection between Dale Girard and Jon Stone? Every time I see a sign for one its next to a sign for the other. There's a photo of Stone holding a Girard sign in the paper.
  
  Why would Girard associate with this guy?

• Jon is a perv (Thursday, November 06 25 12:13 pm EST)

  Jon (or, rather, "Frank"): you want to lock up convicted pervs for longer? Fine by me. But if you find that behavior so disgusting, why did you have a relationship with an underage girl yourself (while you were on the police force, no less)?

• Frank (Thursday, November 06 25 11:45 am EST)

  Who Voted Against Tougher Penalties for Child Sex Traffickers? NH Democrats and And Voters Should Remember It
  
  When the New Hampshire House took up SB 262—a bill to hammer anyone who traffics a child with far tougher prison time (up to life)—the vote should’ve been a clean sweep. Instead, 71 lawmakers voted NO. The bill still passed 290–71 and was signed into law in June, taking effect January 1, 2026.
  
  Let’s be crystal clear about what SB 262 does: it jacks up penalties for trafficking minors—moving New Hampshire away from slap-on-the-wrist sentencing and toward the only language predators understand: long time behind bars. Republicans carried it; Democrats provided most of the opposition. Even Democrat-friendly write-ups conceded the change: increasing penalties “to 18 years to life.”
  
  The “No” column included local Democrats from Sullivan County alone, three Democrats voted against SB 262:
  • Rep. John Cloutier (D–Sullivan County) — NO
  
  • Rep. Hope Damon (D–Sullivan County) — NO
  
  • Rep. William Palmer (D–Sullivan County) — NO
  
  That’s not rumor; it’s on the public roll call.
  
  They weren’t alone. The “No” list is packed with Democratic names—Buzz Scherr, Marjorie Smith, Mary Jane Wallner, Lucy Weber, and many more.
  
  Meanwhile, an overwhelming bipartisan majority (including piles of Republicans and some Democrats) voted YES to put child traffickers away for a very long time.
  
  Why this matters (and why people are done with excuses)
  
  New Hampshire families just watched a grim headline: former Democratic state rep Stacie Laughton pleaded guilty in federal court related to a child-sex-abuse images case tied to a Massachusetts daycare. You can argue that one bad actor doesn’t define a party—but it sure as heck proves why laws like SB 262 exist and why voting “No” on them is political malpractice.
  
  The common-sense test
  Granite Staters don’t need a focus group to tell right from wrong. If a bill says “throw the book at child traffickers,” the only answer is “Yes.” Period. The fact that 71 House members—nearly all Democrats—couldn’t bring themselves to vote for it speaks volumes about priorities at the State House. Call it ideology, call it reflexive opposition to GOP-backed bills, either way, it flunks the common-sense test.
  
  The GOP case, in plain English
  • Protect the innocent first. If government can’t do that, it doesn’t deserve your tax dollars. SB 262 does exactly that.
  
  • Consequences deter predators. “18 years to life” isn’t symbolism; it’s a warning label for would-be traffickers.
  
  • Accountability is non-negotiable. Voters deserve to know who stood up for kids—and who didn’t. The roll-call receipts are public.
  
  New Hampshire just strengthened the law against the worst crime imaginable. Good. But remember the 71 “No” votes next time you hear lectures about “protecting children.” When it counted, many Democrats voted to go softer on child traffickers—and that’s a choice voters have the power to correct.
  
  (For anyone who wants to check it themselves: SB 262’s text, status, and the full roll-call list are all publicly available. Don’t take my word for it—look at the record.)

• You are the company you keep (Thursday, November 06 25 10:50 am EST)

  The Republicans care about their partisanship more than protecting children from a known predator, Stone. That tells you all you need to know.
  
  READ THE POLICE REPORT.
  
  They interviewed a dozen people about Stone and they all said roughly same thing about his disgusting behavior. Maybe one or two people are out to get you. Not a dozen independent people.
  
  Local republicans need to make it clear on each campaign poster and social media post that they in no way accept support from that perv.

• Sick of stone (Thursday, November 06 25 10:15 am EST)

  It works until all the current Republicans who are ok with grooming a 15 year old girl are gone. Then what? Are there Republicans left to run besides the 4-5 we are always stuck with each cycle? No, because no one wants to associate with Stone. Get rid of him and see the Republicans win big, instead of just doing the same old crap. The Dems in town are 3 old people and a school board that's run the budget into the ground. And your proud of only just scraping by with a few councillors? Get real. Your fighting a team of geriatrics and you can barely hold it together.

• Elijah (Thursday, November 06 25 05:54 am EST)

  God is not with Sam. He is a prophet of Baal, a disciple of the evil one
  Call down your fire and nothing happens. What… is your god busy on the toilet?

• Zutterbutter (Thursday, November 06 25 02:15 am EST)

  Annoying Republicans, ask Zutter how Gary Merchant’s leadership worked out for him.
  
  O’Hearne put out one sign, and hid in his basement and still killed Molly at the polls. Rumor has it, he had forgotten he was even running.

• Fact (Thursday, November 06 25 12:40 am EST)

  Republicans kept all their incumbents on the council, and defeated the Claremont CARES warrant article that would have invalidated the roll of the council. Cares only traded their people out. Looks like stone did his job leading them. Republicans don’t bend like Democrats do.

• Annoyed Republican (Wednesday, November 05 25 11:28 pm EST)

  How are the Republicans not as sick of Stone as everyone else is? The guy is killing us here in Sullivan County. Get rid of him and follow someone who doesn't piss off the entire state with his crap. Its embarrassing being a Republican in this county when you have to tie your name to that jackass.

• Kevin II (Wednesday, November 05 25 10:35 pm EST)

  Love it how Kevin Tyson shows up to meetings to explain basic technology to people who understand it 10 times better than he does. And feels so compelled to share his expertise that he needs to jump into the meeting even when it isn't public comments to do so.
  
  It's like your grandfather trying to explain to you these new fangled portable phones he heard about on Fox News.

• KP1 (Wednesday, November 05 25 07:21 pm EST)

  Regardless of what your political stance is, the community defeated that piece of shit Sam Killay and burnout Mike Tetu’s garbage pity party referendum article. You two can go back to the basement with homemade aluminum foil hats.

• Henaldo (Wednesday, November 05 25 02:56 pm EST)

  Jim’s erection results are crazy

• The Caveman (Wednesday, November 05 25 02:10 pm EST)

  So happy Chris Irish has been elected… Not because he beat John Stone although that’s a plus but because he brings a nuttiness factor that you just can’t get anywhere else. I love his talk about the cave people in his other caffeinated rants.

• Chris (Wednesday, November 05 25 11:06 am EST)

  Claremont took a great first step towards progres and voted against Republican tyrany in ward 3. Hopefully he stays out of local politics and sticks to licking Trump' s whatever

• Jim Sullivan (Wednesday, November 05 25 05:25 am EST)

  Two new articles published on the News Flashes page of this website.
  
  1) Election results.
  
  2) Letter I sent to Council regarding City Manager.

• Committee to Elect Mr. Gates (Eventually) (Tuesday, November 04 25 09:46 pm EST)

  On behalf of our candidate, Mr. Gates, who wanted to issue this statement himself but is currently occupied doing very important things, we’d like to share a message with the fine people of Ward 2. In keeping with his spirit, we’ll make this long, typo-filled, and as devoid of meaning as possible while still technically being words.
  
  Ian has heard you loud and clear. Unfortunately, no matter how much you wanted him to be your councilor, he must respectfully decline the opportunity so he can focus on his other, far more important obligations.
  
  Yes, according to the votes, he technically came in third in a two-person race. And sure, more people voted for a guy who doesn’t know what the city council does and whose main platform was that local teachers are dumber than his dog. But Ian can feel your love. Who wouldn’t want him? He’s wildly successful. And smart. You can tell by how often he lectures everyone on WUC about topics no one asked him about.
  
  He’s confident he’ll run again. After all, losing twice in a row doesn’t teach him anything. How could it? You can't learn anything when you already know everything!
  
  There’s been a lot of talk about his personal life during this election. And while some candidates might get sentimental here, Ian wants to be clear: nothing comes between him and his one great passion. That sweet, sweet motorcycle life, bro. Mr. Gates finds it deeply offensive that anyone would suggest he’d ever miss a service appointment for his bike. Please. Let’s have some respect. The man has priorities.
  
  Finally, two personal shoutouts. Mr. Gates knows you love him, “KR.” As he’s said before, he loves you too, but not like that. Still, he promises to keep thinking about you, at least as long as you’re the one controlling the city’s Facebook group. You make a fine cake and will find your special candidate someday.
  
  And of course, a big thank you to Mr. Stone for your support. You’re such a great guy that even if you did something bad. Like really, really bad. Like really, really, really bad. Like involving an underage girl bad. Like threaten to do capital crimes bad. Ian would still unquestioningly accept your support.

• Nicky (Tuesday, November 04 25 08:58 pm EST)

  Jim Sullivan, go fuck yourself, again.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Koloski

• Kpp (Tuesday, November 04 25 08:33 pm EST)

  Unofficial results
  
  Mayor
  Campos 499
  Girard 1429
  
  Asst. Mayor
  Matteau 1547
  
  Ward 1
  Ohearne 279
  Write in 145
  
  Ward 2
  Ellerkamp 143
  Greenrose 453
  Write in 106
  
  Ward 3
  Irish. 448
  Stone 251
  
  At large
  Koloski 1376
  Limoges 1238
  Cogswell 979
  Hemingway 936
  Zutter. 928
  Menard 694
  
  Amendment 1
  Yes. 785
  No. 1184
  
  Amendment 2
  Yes. 925
  No. 984.

• Nutty for Zutty! (Tuesday, November 04 25 04:01 pm EST)

  Claremont Cares is obviously a democrat group pretending to be non-partisan. They are sure going out of their way to tell people that isn't the case.
  
  One thing that I did notice on WUC was that all of the candidates seemed to be allowed to post their information on there. Everyone from Stone to "Cares" candidates to Ellercamp had their say.

• Derek for council (Tuesday, November 04 25 03:22 pm EST)

  I just voted for Derek. Hope he wins and makes Claremont better.

• Wendy (Tuesday, November 04 25 12:58 pm EST)

  "WMUR","her former partner" he's not a her, he's a mentally ill man. Your post failed to mention Stacie-Marie Laughton committed credit card fraud, falsified physical evidence, bomb threating a hospital, arrested for stalking a woman, pranking 911 with non-emergencies text messages, and had 10,000 text messages between him and his partner where they allegedly talked about, and transferred, explicit photographs that Groves had taken last year of children, who appear to be about 3 to 5 years old. Here's one of the text messages “So you would let me f**k the little girls that you work with?” “And you’re not screenshotting this and possibly use it against me at all like we’re both on the same page we both want to do this and you would let me put my d**k inside those little girls I mean what if my d**k is too big I mean its big but it's not that big I think you could fit in there and if it doesn’t fit all the way then I could stop I don’t want to hurt them.” Groves allegedly replied, “If they want your d**k inside them.” Laughton allegedly then asked, “Would you let the little girls suck my d**k?” for somebody who is supposedly a "her" he likes talking about his dick quite a bit. New Hampshire democrats supported him and here's a picture of "her" https://hollywoodunlocked.com/former-transgender-lawmaker-new-hampshire-charged-sexual-exploitation-children-daycare/

• WUC is Biased (Tuesday, November 04 25 11:48 am EST)

  What's up, with "What's Up Claremont"? The admins seem to have it out for Claremont Cares. I don't get Claremont Cares, and it seems weird to have a "non partisan" group that seems to stand for bland things that don't mean anything. But the WUC admins are just their own shadowy group, pushing their own candidates and agenda. And equally crappy ones at that.
  
  Think it's time for a neutral fb group with clear ground rules and unbiased admins.

• Amber (Tuesday, November 04 25 11:07 am EST)

  I just got in trouble for trying to vote at the middle school after voting at Disnard. They are trying to tell me you can only vote where you live. I’m like wtf are you telling me to write in people for ward 1 and 2 because Disnards ballot doesn’t have ward 1 and 2 on it so I had to go vote for the others. I’m currently on hold with the AG and am about to go to city hall to allow them to let me vote. I live in Claremont so let me vote. Like wtf.

• In Depth NH Article (Tuesday, November 04 25 06:59 am EST)

  For balance, here is a "heart warming" story of a disgusting lawmaker supported by Jon Stone. Let that sink in today when you vote.
  
  "Claremont, N.H. - The former police officer who was quietly forced out after making rape and murder threats, Jon Stone, filed papers to get back onto the Claremont City Council, seeking the Ward III seat in the November municipal election...."
  
  Oh, right, that deeply disturbed individual discussed in the article is the VERY CANDIDATE, Jon Stone, himself.

• WMUR (Tuesday, November 04 25 06:34 am EST)

  Here is the heart warming story of a lawmaker supported by Gary Merchant, John Cloutier and Hope Damon. Let that sink in today when you vote.
  
  MANCHESTER, N.H. —
  Former New Hampshire state Rep. Stacie Laughton pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges including sexual exploitation of children in a child sex abuse images case.
  
  The plea comes after her former partner, Lindsay Groves, admitted last month to taking sexually explicit photos of children at the Massachusetts day care where she worked and sending them to Laughton.
  
  MANCHESTER, N.H. —
  Former New Hampshire Democrat state Rep. Stacie Laughton pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges including sexual exploitation of children in a child sex abuse images case.
  
  The plea comes after her former partner, Lindsay Groves, admitted last month to taking sexually explicit photos of children at the Massachusetts day care where she worked and sending them to Laughton.
  
  Federal investigators said four photos of children who appeared to be between 3 and 5 years old were sent to Laughton.
  
  Officials said Laughton asked Groves for the photos and the two exchanged thousands of text messages about them.
  
  Laughton was elected to the New Hampshire House three times but resigned twice over separate legal issues.
  
  Both Laughton and Groves are scheduled to be sentenced in February.

• Matt for the Future (Tuesday, November 04 25 06:16 am EST)

  Matt to run as Mamdami style commie/socialist for mayor of Claremont to bring hope and change to this place
  Free busses
  Free housing
  Higher taxes on the rich “TAX THE RICH”
  City owned housing buying out all the slum lords
  Food for all “city owned grocery”
  Cheap gas
  
  Paid for by claremontsocialists.org

• Vote (Tuesday, November 04 25 06:16 am EST)

  If you think Claremont CARES people will ever lower taxes or actually do anything if elected you are delusional. Today you have a choice, vote for those who will fight for you or those who will be puppets of people like Gary Merchant who was beat in the last state election by Wayne Hemingway. You have Keith Raymond leading the charge over his personal vendetta over some who removed his wife from the police commission. Where is Zutter and Greenrose? Very little from either of them, just like their performance on the council. People have said Irish lost one of his jobs stealing computers from one of employers, which was a bank. Filed personal bankruptcy, in addition he did absolutely nothing when he did serve on the council. He bulled Ms. Ferland off the school board and attacked fellow school board member Brian Rapp. Then you have Chris Cogswell, a carpetbagger who has spoken more at school board meetings than he has on city issues. All Claremont Cares have the same messaging that says absolutely nothing. The Tremblay girl could be Gauther’s daughter from her use of AI, has zero clue in city issues. Claremont is facing an unprecedented tax increase this November. People are already taxed to the maximum. Today, you better Vote for those who will cut taxes, not feel good politics.

• Matt (Monday, November 03 25 10:30 pm EST)

  Here's a screen shot of the unedited video Claremont Cares
  just released to the public, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/hostage-gm857369404-142423577

• Mike (Monday, November 03 25 10:03 pm EST)

  "Question" read the comment at
  12:32 pm.

• Jennifer, got it now (Monday, November 03 25 09:31 pm EST)

  Just to be fair to Stone, after looking at the file again ("Jonathan Stone Internal Affairs Documents" linked above), according to the police reports Stone threatened to rape the chief's wife and murder the chief. It's not clear if Mr. Stone planned to harm her further following the, ya know, r*pe. In case that detail changes anyone's mind, I wanted to clear that up. But, according to the files, he did also threaten to hurt the chief's kids and shoot up the police department.
  
  On the other hand, the delivery in the opposing side's campaign video is uninspiring, so.....its a tough call.

• Question (Monday, November 03 25 09:07 pm EST)

  Is it just me or does Scott Pope look like he is being held against his will in the cares video?

• Jennifer, got it now (Monday, November 03 25 09:02 pm EST)

  Tell me more about John Stone. I hope he isn't related to the infamous local monster Jon Stone who threatened to r*pe and murder the police chief's wife for investigating him "dating" a school-aged girl.