Walpole Police Officers to Receive Award

COMMUNITY NEWS 08/21/2026 Leave a comment

On December 5, 2025, Walpole Police Officers Joshua Healy and Jonah Merkle responded to a call to locate a missing person. They quickly realized that this was not simply a search for a missing individual—the person was likely injured and in urgent need of assistance.

Within a very short time, Officers Healy and Merkle located the individual lying in the Cold River and suffering from severe hypothermia. Thanks to their quick response and the efforts of the Walpole EMS team, the individual was rescued, transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and ultimately made a full recovery.

On September 25, 2026, Officers Healy and Merkle will receive the New Hampshire Congressional Law Enforcement Award. This award recognizes law enforcement officers who go above and beyond their normal duties in service to others and is presented by members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation.

Please join me in congratulating Officers Joshua Healy and Jonah Merkle on this well-deserved recognition and thanking them for their dedication, professionalism, and service to the citizens of Walpole.

Steve Dalessio

“The Whaling Ship Catalpa” at the Walpole Historical Society – 8/22/26

EVENTS 08/20/2026 Leave a comment

An event every Saturday, 12:30 pm at the Museum

Please join us this Saturday, August 22 at 12:30 pm when Jim Ryan joins us from New Bedford, MA, with the story of his great-grandfather, American captain George S. Anthony and the whaling ship Catalpa, the Irish fight for independence from Great Britain, and the daring rescue of the Six Fenians from Freemantle Prison.

* * *

The collections of the Walpole Historical Society contain thousands of items: clothing of all descriptions and eras, photos, pamphlets, books, tools, business ledgers, furniture, minutes of civic organizations, souvenir china, kitchen implements, even some vehicles. These objects have entered our collections through myriad sources: individuals and families donating family heirlooms, eagle-eyed folks at the Transfer Station or the Library Book Sale, basement and attic explorers, collectors seeking a home for their treasures. The Walpole Historical Society collections contain the commonplace and the rare and everything in between–all representing possible stories to discover. Please visit www.WalpoleHistory.com.

Selectboard Meeting Agenda – 8/20/26

SELECTBOARD 08/20/2026 Leave a comment

TOWN OF WALPOLE

SELECTBOARD MEETING AGENDA

August 20, 2026

Starting at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall

SELECTBOARD MEETING

WALPOLE SCHOOL UPDATE with Principal Justin Cassarino

  • Walpole School Open House on 8/25/2026

NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS: RSA 91-A:3 II (a) (b) (c) (e)

PAYROLL

  • Payroll Register totaling $41,119.14 dated 8/21/2026 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $7,531.08

SELECTBOARD MEETING MINUTES

  • Selectboard Meeting – August 13, 2026
  • Selectboard Non-Public Session – August 13, 2026
  • Police Station Bond Informational Meeting – August 15, 2026

COMMITTEE REPORTS

  • Special Town Meeting Minutes – August 17, 2026
  • Planning Board Meeting Minutes – August 8, 2026
  • Police Station Building Committee Meeting Minutes – August 10, 2026
  • Trail Committee Meeting Minutes – August 12, 2026

BUILDING PERMITS

  • 2026-29 Map and Lot# 003-059-001

REFUNDS

  • Map and Lot# 027-001-006
  • Map and Lot# 012-025-000

OLD BUSINESS

Pending Further Actions: Old North Main Bridge/Culvert, School and Union Street Drainage, Parking Ordinance

  • Special Town Meeting Comment Letter
  • Letter to State Fire Marshall
  • Library Ramp Railing Extension

NEW BUSINESS

  • Quitclaim Deed for Map and Lot# 012-046-000
  • Quitclaim Deed for Map and Lot# 015-004-003
  • Recycling Center Truck
  • Recreation Dept. re: Private Shed
  • Scout Mum Sale and the Common
  • Town Clerk’s Office – Special Labor Day Hours

HOOPER TRUSTEES MEETING

HOOPER TRUSTEES MINUTES

  • Hooper Trustees Meeting – August 6, 2026

HOOPER TRUSTEES PUBLIC BUSINESS

  • Hooper Reimbursements to the Town

HOOPER TRUSTEES NON-PUBLIC BUSINESS: RSA 91-A:3 II

**Any recording, audio or visual, and/or other devices must be declared at the beginning of the meeting**

Girl Scouts Flyer

Uncategorized 08/18/2026 Leave a comment

Cub Scouts Flyer

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Special Town Meeting Results

Uncategorized 08/18/2026 1 Comment

At 7pm on 8/17/2026 voters met at the Town Hall to vote on just one Article.  The article was in regard to the Town acquiring a 3 million dollar Bond to help build a new Police Station.

The results of the Special Town Meeting are as follows:

There were 175 ballots cast.

104 were in favor of the Article.

71 were not in favor of the Article.

To pass an Article regarding a Bond, a 3/5 majority is required.

3/5 of 175 ballots is 105.

Therefore, the Article was NOT passed, because 105 votes in favor were needed but only 104 were cast in favor.

Opinion: Police Station Building

OPINIONS 08/18/2026 Comments: 2

[Editor’s Note: Occasionally, The Walpolean receives correspondence that addresses a current topic affecting the local community. Robbie Mahrou asked me to share his letter about the Police Station Building. Robbie is a Walpole resident and Independent candidate for Congress in NH-02.]

When I think about our police department in Walpole, I know the right answer. Justin and his team need a new home. I have spent time with him, I understand his dilemma, and frankly, it kills me how we have failed him.

But we also need to understand how we got here.

For four years this project has been kicked around. I have been to a number of the meetings and asked some pretty basic questions. What is our actual crime profile? What do our officers deal with most? Senior fraud, scams, domestic incidents, traffic issues and the everyday problems of a small rural community. Why do we need three holding cells? Are we designing this building around Walpole’s actual needs?

Too often, the answer came back to the grant and federal specifications.

There is nothing wrong with taking grant money. Hell, we should. But the first question should have been, “Justin needs a police station. What does Walpole need that station to be?” Instead, it feels like we started with what the grant would fund and worked backwards.

Now we are looking at a $5 million-plus project and roughly a $30 tax increase per $100,000 of home value. That is a significant burden, and it doesn’t end when construction does. We will own, heat, maintain and repair this building for decades.

So where was the bigger conversation? If we are making a $5 million investment in Walpole, why weren’t we asking what else we could accomplish with that investment? We have an aging population, medical access needs, farmers who desperately need processing capacity, and a future operating budget to consider. Where was the discussion about solar, renewable energy and lowering the lifetime cost of the building?

I am not saying a police station needs to solve every problem in Walpole. It doesn’t. But a $5 million investment should have brought a broader conversation than simply meeting grant specifications.

And there is another issue: local control. If Walpole taxpayers are paying for this facility, we should have a say in what activities take place inside it and what our building, personnel and resources are being used to support. We have to follow the law, but there should be transparency and local oversight before taxpayer-funded resources become part of federal immigration enforcement or other federal operations.

You remember Andy Griffith? Small town, different needs. Walpole is Walpole. We should build for the community we actually have.

I don’t blame Justin. I think we failed him. We waited too long, and now he is trying to solve a problem inside a process that became too expensive and too restrictive.

Justin needs a new home. Walpole taxpayers deserve a responsible investment. Those two things should never have been put at odds with each other.

We can do better. And frankly, we owe it to ourselves to do so.

Robbie Mahrou

Planning Board Meeting Minutes – 8/8/26

PLANNING BOARD 08/17/2026 Leave a comment

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

August 8, 2026

Town Hall

7 pm

Role Call: Present: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio, Alternate Tom Murray. Absent: Travis Adams.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.  A full board was present so an alternate was not needed to fill in. 

Review Minutes of the July 2026 meeting: Mr. Marcom made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

Presenter: Sarah Bollinger from Southwest Region Planning Commission was at the meeting to answer questions about the proposed adoption of an amendment to Walpole’s Zoning Ordinances to include the following:

1. Adding definitions for “family day care home” and “family group day care home” to Article XX.

2. Adding a new subsection, Article IV.O. addressing these uses, and

3. Amending the table of permitted uses, to identify where the uses are permitted and to cross-reference Article IV.O.

Ms. Bollinger said the state is very much behind this addition to zoning ordinances in the state because of the need for child care of young child so parents can become part of New Hampshire’s workforce. The two types of child care she was speaking of were:

Family Day Care Home: As defined in RSA 170-E:2, IV(a): an occupied residence where child day care provided for less than 24 hours per day, except in emergencies, generally for up to 6 children from one or more unrelated families, subject to applicable State licensing requirements.

And Group Family Day Care Home: As defined in RSA 170-E:2 IV(b); an occupied residence where child day care is provided for less than 24 hours per day, except in emergencies, generally for 2 to 12 children from one or more unrelated families, subject to applicable State licensing requirements.

These would be allowed in any zoning district where residential use is permitted in the primary dwelling or within an existing accessory building. In Walpole that would be Residential A and B, Rural/Ag and Commercial Districts but not in the Industrial or Timberland districts.

The NH Department of Health and Human Services under He-C 4002 will oversee the requirements of these day care homes.  It does not require a special exception and shall not be subject to a local site plan review. Nothing in this section shall be construed to override any private covenant, including homeowners’ association covenants. The state does the licensing and caregivers follow their criteria. The state requires fire and septic inspections.

Towns have no say in any of the requirements including parking, picking up and dropping off children. Concerns of the Board were parking and more importantly that neighbors of these homes taking care of children would not be notified in advance.

The next step in the process is to have a public hearing this fall. The Board has to vote on the final language of the amendment and make a recommendation to support or not support the final language. If there are substantial changes in the language of the amendment, it may need an additional public hearing. If the amendment stands as written, it will go to the Town Clerk to be placed on the warrant and voted on in March 2027 at the town election.

The amendment will be available for public inspection at the Town Hall and will be put on the town website, which is www.walpolenh.us, before the public vote by ballot in March.

The amendment will read something like this:

Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 1 as proposed by the Planning Board to amend the Walpole Zoning Ordinances by adding definitions for family day care homes and family group day care homes, adding a new subsection to Article IV governing these uses, and amending Appendix B. Table of Permitted Uses to identify where these uses are permitted?

This amendment updates Walpole Zoning Ordinances to align with State law allowing home-based child care by right as an accessory use to primary zoning districts where residential uses are allowed, subject to applicable State requirements.

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. The time was 7:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

WPB Recording Secretary

Selectboard Meeting Minutes – 8/6/26

SELECTBOARD 08/17/2026 Leave a comment

Town of Walpole, New Hampshire

Meeting of the Selectboard

August 6, 2026

Selectboard Present: Carolyn Vose, Chair, Cheryl Mayberry, and Steven Dalessio

Staff Present: Sarah Downing, Manager of Administration, and Sue Bauer, Recording Secretary

Guests Present: Charlotte King, from the Reformer, and Jack Franks, Abenaki Springs/Avanru Dev.

Call to Order: Ms. Vose called the Selectboard meeting to order at 6:30 PM in the Walpole Town Hall.

Payroll

Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Payroll Register totaling $41,022.17 dated 8/7/2026 and the 941 Payroll Tax Transfer of $7,528.22.  Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, Payroll was approved. 

Selectboard Meeting Minutes

Selectboard Meeting – July 30, 2026: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Minutes of the Selectboard meeting of July 30, 2026. Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, the Selectboard minutes were approved.

Non-Public Selectboard Session – July 30, 2026: Mr. Dalessio moved to approve the Minutes of the Non-Public Selectboard Session of July 30, 2026 with the minutes to remain sealed.  Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, the Non-Public minutes were approved.

Building Permit

2014-10, Map and Lot# 012-013-004: Mr. Dalessio moved to table the renewal of Building Permit #2014-10 for Map and Lot # 012-013-004 to construct a third phase of Abenaki Springs development until the Town receives the construction drawings from Mr. Franks. Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, the motion was approved. 

Old Business

FMRSD Payment Request: FMRSD is requesting the July payment and future payments through the tax rate setting date. The Treasurer, Steve Varone, has already made the ACH payment for July.  The School District did not provide the Town with a payment schedule past the June payment.  The Articles of Agreement says they will provide Towns with a schedule until the new rate is set  which is typically in October.  The Selectboard requests that Steve Varone attend the next meeting.

Jack Franks arrived during the discussion of the FMRSD Payment Request.

Great River Hydro’s FERC License: Great River Hydro is requesting expedited approval by the government.  By consensus, the Selectboard supports the request since Great River Hydro has met all the requirements for the license.

Hubbard Inc. Solid Waste Permit Waiver: The permit is no longer required since they have an incinerator. Ms. Vose acknowledged receipt of the letter from NHDES.

Abenaki Springs – Phase 3: Mr. Franks stated that he wants the 2014 building permit renewed. Ms. Vose explained that it was tabled earlier in the meeting because construction plans are not available. Mr. Franks stated that he will not go to the Planning Board for another Site Plan Review.  Ms. Vose commented that it was clearly stated that until the Town and State Fire Marshall have the construction plans, it is impossible to approve a building permit.  Mr. Franks was reminded that since Phase 3 is to be built now, the design must be consistent with today’s standards and safety codes. Mr. Franks said he will pay to have up-to-date site plans and construction drawings, including electrical and plumbing prepared by his architects.  He will get the drawings to Mark Houghton, the Fire Chief and the State Fire Marshall when they are ready for review.

Mr. Franks left the meeting.

New Business

Authorization for Registering Vehicles Letter: Mr. Dalessio moved to accept the letter to authorize Mike Symonds to register the new truck for the Town of Walpole.  Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, the letter was approved and signed.

2027 Highway Block Grant: Ms. Mayberry said there is $143,096.88 in the 2027 Block Grant for Walpole.  There will be four payments throughout the year.  The Town is lucky to have this grant because it is a big part of our Highway budget.

Thank You Letter: The Town received a thank you letter in appreciation for Walpole’s donation to Our Place.  Ms. Vose acknowledged the letter.

Hooper Trustees

Ms. Mayberry moved to enter into the Hooper Trustees meeting at 6:56 PM.  Mr. Dalessio seconded.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Vose in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting was reconvened at 7:00 PM.

Charlotte King left the meeting.

Non-Public Business RSA 91-A:3 II (a)(c)

Ms. Mayberry  moved to enter into Non-Public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (a)(c) at 7:04 PM.  Mr. Dalessio seconded.  With Ms. Mayberry, Mr. Dalessio and Ms. Vose in favor, the motion was approved.

The meeting was reconvened at 7:55 PM.

Mr. Dalessio moved that the Non-Public Session Minutes be sealed. Ms. Mayberry seconded.  With Mr. Dalessio, Ms. Mayberry and Ms. Vose in favor, the motion was approved.

Adjournment: Ms. Vose declared the meeting adjourned at 7:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Bauer, Recording Secretary

(Note: These are unapproved Minutes. Corrections will be found in the Minutes of the August 13, 2026 Selectboard meeting.)

Police Station Building Committee Meeting Minutes – 8/10/26

Police Building Committee 08/17/2026 Leave a comment

POLICE STATION BUILDING COMMITTEE

Meeting Minutes

August 10, 2026

Steve Dalessio called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm in the Selectboard Office. Present were Andrew Dey, Cheri Watson, Trevor MacLachlan, Jay Punt, Chief Justin Sanctuary and Peggy Pschirrer.

The Committee reviewed the final floor plan of the proposed new Police Station.  All agree that if the building were to be built tomorrow, they would be happy with results.  

Both Trevor MacLachlan and Andrew Dey reviewed the detailed cost estimates.  The Committee discussed potential cuts to the proposed budget.  Granite curbing will be limited to the front of the building. Cost of siding will be reviewed.

Mr. Dalessio reminded the Committee of the public informational meeting to be held Saturday, August 15 at 10 am in Town Hall.  The Special Meeting is scheduled for August 17, 2026, at 7:00 pm in Town Hall.  Jack Wozmak, Town Moderator, will conduct the meeting as he does every Town Meeting.  The only agenda is whether the Town will vote to accept a three-million-dollar bond for construction of the new station.  Voters will register as they do at any Town Meeting.  Bond issues require a 3/5 vote to pass – or 60% of the voters present and voting.  The Committee will meet briefly at the end of the Special Meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.