Also on today’s menu:
Just A Joke
Missing Ballots
Former Bristol Police Chief Barry W. Wingate died at home at age 76 on Sunday, April 3. He probably was the longest-serving police chief in Bristol, having started as a patrolman on January 19, 1972, becoming chief in 1975, and serving until April 2007. Even after retirement, he served as a part-time officer for the Bristol Police Department until January 30, 2014, then continued his career as a Grafton County deputy sheriff until his death.
Part of his success was his ability to avoid major controversy as police chief. Unlike his predecessor, Jack Smart, Wingate avoided getting in people’s faces, and if possible, he would “monitor the situation” from afar while his officers handled the difficult cases. Despite calls from some citizens to be more like “Dirty Harry,” Wingate’s standard line when a miscreant was able to avoid jail time was “My hands are tied.”
Wingate was born and raised in Winchester, Massachusetts, and served four years in the U.S. Air Force, where he trained as a vehicle mechanic, before coming to Bristol. He attended night school as St. Anselm College, earning a bachelor of science degree in Criminal Justice, and took specialized classes at the FBI National Academy, graduating in 1984.
Just A Joke
Republican Governor Chris Sununu says it was just a joke when he roasted former President Donald Trump during the 137th Gridiron Club dinner for Washington’s oldest association of journalists on Saturday. He joked about others as well, but it was his jokes about Trump that managed to get the headlines.
“You know, he’s probably going to be the next president,” Sununu said, musing about Trump’s “experience,” “passion,” “sense of integrity,” and the “rationale” he brought to his tweets. He paused, then yelled: “Nah, I’m just kidding! He’s F—ing crazy!”
“I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution,” Sununu said, “but I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out.” Sununu also told of Trump’s visit to New Hampshire for a presidential rally, saying the former president insisted the governor ride with him to the venue. On the ride, Sununu said Trump spoke mostly about his polling numbers before pointing to people along the route whom he said were his fans. “I can’t help but notice the guy he pointed at, the sign he’s holding says, ‘F— Trump’, ” the governor said.
Missing Ballots
Courts have authorized the N.H. Attorney General’s Office to examine election materials from Laconia and Bedford, where some of the votes from the 2020 general election went uncounted.
In Laconia, officials turned over a sealed envelope containing an unknown number of ballots that were cast but apparently were not tallied in several elections, including the 2020 general election. In Bedford, a number of absentee ballots were not counted in the same general election.
Myles Matteson, the deputy general counsel for the Attorney General’s Office, said Laconia officials found the ballots in a side compartment of a ballot box used for the city’s Ward 6 as they got ready for the Nov. 2, 2021, municipal election. The compartment is for ballots that could not be fed through the AccuVote ballot-counting machine, either because of a problem with the ballot or with the device, Matteson said.
Café Chatter
There are many issues to write about, like Chris Sununu bashing Trump and other Republicans at an event in DC a few days ago or some other Republican calling Free Staters and Liberty minded people Extremist. So, here’s a bit of HOPE.
On April 23rd will be an event at the Newfound Lake Inn celebrating God and Country and to support the NH Veterans and fighting Human Trafficking in NH (yes, sadly, believe it or not it is happening here in our state). For details go to the website GodandCountryNH.org.
Hope to see you all there and let’s have an evening of celebration. BTW, the Newfound Lake Inn has excellent food.
— John Sellers, Bristol
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