Exeter to PAR: "clean up mess"

An article in the local freeby newspaper " Atlantic News" (www.Atlanticnews.com) march 27 issue describes how the town of Exeter NH has joined with a local man in a complaint to the state DES about old crossties and timbers in a local river, downstream of one of Guilfords bridges, and demands Guilford or Pan Am or whatever they are calling themselves this week come clean them up.

Exeter has an active vandalism/graffiti problem, the bridge is in the part of town which could be considered the so called "wrong side of the tracks". Maybe if the local PD would actually do some police work instead of just handing out speeding tickets or harrassing the volunteers who maintain the nearby amtrak station stop.....

ya, the Exeter PD is filled with Gung-Ho arrogant type officers. And they should be doing more to prevent the derelicts from trashing the town. But it is up to B&M to remove the ties and timbers. They are leeching out crap into the river. Not exactly the best and most efficient, cost-effective way to deal with "scraps" or extras. You'd think they would learn to recycle, considering all the money problems.

A brief AP article on this subject appeared in the Boston Globe today.

In summary:

The Exeter board of selectmen has filed a complaint with the state in regards to various pieces of railroad rubbish that have ended up in the Little River. The article specifically mentions "metal ties," which are said to contain arsenic and would threaten the groundwater supply.

The article also says that a similar complaint was filed two years ago, and that PAR has done nothing since then to remedy the problem.

No railroad is going to dispose of old ties and other track materials in the
nearest river or some other place off the right of way.
Might be legal issues to stop it but I think it would be a good idea to
arrest all or as many of the "urchins" as possible, put them in jail for a
week and let them go on a work detail to clean up this stuff. I'll bet a
couple of days doing that will cure them of messing around the railroad
again.
Noel Weaver

Noel Weaver wrote:No railroad is going to dispose of old ties and other track materials in the
nearest river or some other place off the right of way.
Might be legal issues to stop it but I think it would be a good idea to
arrest all or as many of the "urchins" as possible, put them in jail for a
week and let them go on a work detail to clean up this stuff. I'll bet a
couple of days doing that will cure them of messing around the railroad
again.
Noel Weaver

With all due respect, all bets are off when Guilford is involved. When they dismantled the Cheshire in 1984 they "mistakenly" destroyed a bridge in Keene that was registered as a historic structure.

The whole thing is clear to me now, the individual who initiated the complaint is running for political office. He's grandstanding!
I'm waiting for him to explain how this debris travels upstream in a river unaffected by tides. Theres a dam about one mile downstream.