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ROCHESTER A growing number of elected officials and community leaders from throughout the area and state are signing a formal statement that calls for Rochester City Councilor Doug Lachance to resign in light of sexual abuse allegations made against him.
Somersworth City Councilor Crystal Paradis created the statement, which she said isn’t a petition, in response to a Foster’s Daily Democrat special report in which two adult men allege Lachance used his power as mayor roughly 20 years ago to groom and sexually abuse them when they were teens.
Should Lachance not resign, Rochester City Councilor Jeremy Hutchinson said he will motion for City Council to remove Lachance from office. He also said he will formally call on Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley to schedule a special council meeting, well before the next regularly scheduled full council session on April 20, for councilors to conduct that removal vote.
SOMERSWORTH With heavy snowfall in the upcoming week’s forecast, and public uncertainty about the future of the Tri-Cities’ emergency warming center still accumulating, the cities’ mayors say they’re firm in their commitment the facility will continue to serve the region’s increasing houseless population.
Dover Mayor Bob Carrier, Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley and Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard all insisted in separate interviews this past week during an eventful week for the center that the center isn’t going away and the primary criteria for its activation moving forward will be life-threatening cold.
“As to how we go forward, I think whatever we’re gonna to do, we’re gonna have a way to guarantee that our folks who are not sheltered have a place to get to in freezing cold weather,” said McCarley. “Period. End of story.”
Seacoast mayors, schools call for NH funds amid COVID crisis
New Hampshire mayors and school board chairs sent a joint letter to Gov. Chris Sununu and other state government leaders Thursday urging them to help municipalities across the state facing millions of dollars in uncontrollable cost increases.
The letter, which Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley hinted was coming last week, states Granite State school districts fear they won’t be able to provide children with adequate public education due to things like state retirement system cost increases and various impacts and unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“An accessible and properly funded public education is critical for the children of New Hampshire, and right now, our schools are communicating significant concerns,” reads the letter, which was signed by mayors and school board officials from Dover, Portsmouth, Rochester, Somersworth and seven other New Hampshire cities. “We hope that the Department of E