http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120716/NEWS02/707169914/1003
Published July 16, 2012 in the Rutland Herald
Residents concerned about downtown shooting
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — Concerned about the recent attempted murder in downtown Springfield, residents plan to go to the Select Board meeting tonight to ask what can be done.
Christian Craig, the executive director of the Edgar May Recreation Center and the first vice president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said that many people were shocked at last week’s shooting, that took place near the intersection of Main and Park streets in daylight.
Terrick Craft, 28, of Springfield is being held for lack of $500,000 bail on charges of attempted murder and several other charges. Police say Craft pulled a gun on Nicholas Brown and fired several shots but missed him.
Craig said the news that Craft was allegedly a member of the gang, Bloods, and had made calls from Springfield prison to out-of-state friends to come to Springfield to beat up his victim, was particularly alarming.
Craig said there have been discussions in the past year, including several well-attended public forums, but people were always assured there was no gang-activity in Springfield.
“There’s a wide level of frustration, it’s very passionate,” Craig said.
He added the frustration is that people feel the entire town is now “being painted with that brush.”
Earlier this year during budget sessions, the Springfield Select Board voted 3-2 against adding another detective to the Springfield Police Department that would have been assigned to drug crimes with the Southern Vermont Drug Task Force, which works with the Vermont State Police.
Laura Cody McNaughton works for the Department of Health as a prevention specialist. As a Springfield native who recently returned to town, she said people want to forge a dialogue, not assign blame at tonight’s meeting.
“I hope we use this as an opportunity for the community to come together,” said McNaughton.
While no mention of drugs has surfaced in the Craft case, many people believe the violence was drug-related.
“Violence and drugs often go side by side, I think they are closely related issues,” she said.
McNaughton said she hoped the incident could be used “as a catalyst to pull everybody together. I’ve seen a lot of finger pointing in the past few days, but this is not just something the Select Board has to deal with. We’re all in this together.”
“This is not the vision we have for our town,” she said.
The shooting took place around 8 p.m., and police originally thought it was fireworks.
While Craft’s relatives have said he was innocent and actually the victim of a beating, police found what appears to be bullet holes in the building that houses Tangles and HR Block.
According to court records, Craft sought medical attention at both Springfield Hospital and Valley Regional after the shooting. In court, his attorney said he had a broken jaw and hadn’t received adequate medical attention.
Town Manager Robert Forguites said that Police Chief Douglas Johnstone would be back from vacation and at the meeting. Forguites said that even though Johnstone was on vacation, he had been in contact with the police department by phone throughout the investigation.
“Obviously this been an ongoing discussion with forums they have had,” said Forguites. “We’ll have some discussion on that (tonight).”
The Springfield Select Board meets in the third floor meeting room in town hall, starting at 7 p.m. tonight.
Oh great, we are headed towards more useless forums where the police do their dog and pony show about the indicia of gangs and the dangers of drugs. Its pressure time for the Town to actually do something, the time for talking and talking is over.
ReplyDeleteI agree Aethelred! However, I don't understand why everyone is so upset. They should be upset with themselves. They voted in these people, they allow the system to remain how it currently is when they do not petition for removal of people from the positions they hold. They allow the town to bully them whether that be through the schools or the talk of impending doom and gloom or the excessive need for unnecessary equipment and costs, or the excuse that the town management/select board has no say in the benefits and pay costs for town employees...Give me a break. The residents created this and they now reap what they have swed for years turning the other cheek and ignoring the transgressions of the town, the schools, etc etc.
ReplyDeletethat should read they reap what they sow...my bad. Thinking faster that my typing.
DeleteHaving a little bit of trouble following the train of logic as to how talking about union contract negotiations has anything to do with the fact that the Town Manager and Police Chief have allowed drug trafficking to occur right in front of an elementary school during broad daylight. But I am sure you will enlighten me, seems like the question is what are the police and building inspectors doing (or not doing), not what are they being paid.
DeleteIdiots like you would have trouble following any train, be it one of logic or Thomas the Tank Engine!
DeleteWe need more Thomas the Tank Engine downtown.
DeleteRepresent !!!!
Be prepared to have smoke blown up where the sun don't shine and have it called sunshine. See y'all at 7
ReplyDeleteWell I unfortunately have to agree, I expect to see a lot of smoke being blown in that direction tonight. Its like at the Candidates night when the existence of drug trafficking in front of a school was brought up, it quickly was diverted to talking about union contracts and taxes. Not interested in union contracts, am interested in whether there is any direction of police activities goin on at all and whether the Town Manager has done any research into who is housing these people and whether there is a history of the same landlords housing drug traffickers in this town. But I bet you he ducks it.
DeleteJust read a post which said that the Selectboard is going to have its meeting on drug dens in Springfield at the auditorium at Riverside. Hope my butt fits in those little seats.
ReplyDeleteThat would be at 7:00 p.m., at the auditorium at Riverside Middle School tonight July 16th, 2012. We will also be entertained watching Boss try to get out of one of those seats I am sure.
DeleteA splendid meeting. Fine example of Republican style democracy if I might say so. We clearly don't want any intrusion into our lives by the town government. Benign neglect of Union Street is just the ticket. That will teach the school board for trying to buck the tide of inevitability concerning Union Street.
DeleteI think it would be helpful for the police if there were more than only two police officers on duty most shifts...
ReplyDeleteSounds like an overstaffing problem, it only takes one to operate a radar gun whatever were they thinking.
DeleteAnd the tension mounts as within less than an hour the Springfield citizenry will the Town government announce that it will:
Delete1. Institute a crackdown on Springfield's slumlords who rent to reputed drug traffickers;
2. Increase the visibility of its police force with foot or bike patrols in known hotspots;
3. Launch an investigation as to why a convicted felon from N.J. just happened to choose Springfield, VT as his new hometown;
4. Launch a full inquiry into whether the State kept its promises with regards to not relocating convicts to Springfield and to hire administrators and guards locally; or
Will the Town government blow smoke and whine about gangs and drugs and indicate how helpless they are and appoint a committee to study the problem.
Odds in the betting at this moment are -- the Town will appoint a committee to study the problem and hope everybody moves on.
Just caught this outrageous comment by Aethelred as I was waddling out the door to the meeting. Why appointing a study committee is the completely sensible thing to do. And they should point out to the committee that they have already been holding citizen forums which have been wonderfully effective. But I do believe they need to stress the importance of having a designated slum area in town, and running from Union Street to lower Park Street has already made wonderful progress in that direction. The taxpayers demand inaction as to clearing up these slums and in fact demand that the decay be accelerated its the inevitable thing and we should not fight inevitability -- that's my slogan. Oh, need to get down there and add my profundity, maybe pass out a few anti-drug brochures for good measure -- gotta win this war on drugs you know.
DeleteA the U, I agree. Those houses need to be purchased, ripped down, and at least the area around our school can be safe and nice. Start there. But, it will only look good. People come here for all the services, and families come with their dad's in prison. Then they like it, nice place to stay. And here they are. The drug dealers don't live on Union Street.
DeleteAnd, the town got 3 million dollars as an incentive for voting in the prison location. Was it worth it? That was the downfall of this town, we are a prison town. And what is that Health and Rec center doing for our community at large? If the 3 million had been put in the bank to accrue interest, and be used to fund gradual improvement to the town, the handly building would be bought and torn down. We would have money to buy these dangerous homes full of dangerous people right across from our school and tear them down. But we don't have that money.
Looks like it wouldn't have paid to bet against Aethelred' odds. We seem to have a Selectboard that is completely incapable of action. Is someone going to start circulating a recall petition?
DeleteWill you?
DeleteI think the fight needs to be led by the rising tide of young college graduates returning to this Town, not old farts like me. But I would gladly sign the recall petition -- the Selectboard, unlike the Schoolboard, has been given a pass too many times during the last decade or so. It has become a bastion of do nothing conservatives which has put a damper on getting things done in this Town. Their policies sometimes border on nonsensical -- for example they agree to the use of part of the prison inducement monies to subsidize the costs at the Edgar May Center, and then they turn around and refuse to give it a tax exemption so that it has to merge with the hospital. They pass silly resolutions about medical marijuana dispensaries, but refuse to put drug dens in Town on their agenda as a permanent agenda item. They try to mask over the particle board palace with murals at one end of main street, but barely maintain an eyesore at the other end of main street. They claim to have cleaned up the town, but ignore what is happening on the brook road. They let the Department of Corrections do an end run on their promise not to relocate prisoners and squabble with the school system. The list of weird runs on and on.
DeleteI think an older person who wants to see the town at least become a glimpse of what it was could do a lot. Someone who says, I don't have young kids in the school system, but I care what happens to the kids anyway. Young couples and parents have an obvious investment in the future of this town... But everyone on here seems to too, no matter what age. Some of us aren't being taken seriously. There are figureheads in this town who could stand up next to someone like Ethan. Now that would be impressive. A force to be reckoned with.
DeleteDo we really want the Town to become like "what it was" when they used the Black River as an industrial waste dump, had regular Friday night brawls at the Duck Inn, few went to college, etc.? I think we can do better than that, we can clean up the Town and grow the Grand List, and still take care of the people that need an economic lift. But we can't do it if we keep accelerating the downward spiral with a Selectboard that squabbles with the School District and taxes the biggest health and recreational improvement the Town has seen in decades. Nor can it do it with a citizenry that complains when people restore key buildings in Town and try to kill experimental industrial projects in a much less than full industrial park.
DeleteFYI, the reason the town doesn't want to cooperate with the school board is strictly for personal gain. They want to appear as the good guy so their budget passes each year (which it has). They feel that if they are linked to the school system this puts their budget in jepordy.
DeleteWhat they don't understand (which is to all of our detriment) is that by working together they could better prepare this town for its next life. Instead they are happy living with what they have, because it requires them to work less.
What our fearless leaders seem to understand is that if you have good school system and a safe town, people actually want to live there. If people want to live in a location, property values increase, business opportunities grow, and the grand list increases which allows a town to spend money on things (or gasppppppp lower property taxes). But, all of this would require working together, making hard decisions (about what to cut and what to improve), and potentially even providing a little bit of leadership and vision.
If you read the above post quickly ^^^^, or not at all, please read it.....and think hard about what was written. Springfield in a nutshell.
DeleteOne edit, I believe the author intended to write "What our fearless leaders FAIL to understand......"
Yes. We need to get the progressives off that Board because they fail to understand personal gain. What we need are more conservatives like Whistle Blower said.
DeleteI don't understand which members of the Selectboard are progressive?
DeleteI am going to have to weigh in on the study group idea. I think what will happen is exactly what happened with the parking problem, a Study was created and the Study went with Studying the problem and Nothing was Done to Solve the Parking Problem. New Study: Gangs in Springfield, VT. Yes, we have Gangs. Study Closed.
ReplyDeleteWe have this guy who shot the other who is manipulating our youth, by giving them drugs. He lures them in, gets control of them, and uses them for violence. We use the word "gang" and not everyone takes it seriously. But that man, now in jail, has led something much like a gang, and our own teenagers are a part of this group. You can see them on the porch.... Even with their soccer jersey's on, SHS, right on the back.
DeleteAfter last night's performance, it would appear that you have every right to be angry. Do you intend to start circulating a recall petition, looks like it is time to make a clean sweep of the Selectboard.
DeleteAfter hearing the opinions of Springfield's ____________.
ReplyDeletewe "selected" to "board" up our windows.
Gangs are like wolf packs with oposable thumbs....
Run for the shadows.
Those of you bad boys lighting off the fireworks need to take credit for this misdirection of our feerless boys in blue as well, and don't discharge any guns in "CITY" limits cause that is unlawfull!.
ReplyDeleteHang on to your guns with booth hands!, here comes a nother round of unwarented gun controll by the powers that are.
Drug deals go on near Jasinki's all the time, I've heard.
DeleteMike Knoras would like you to call the police department so they know where all the drug deals are going on. You can call anonymously 885-2113.
DeleteI was studying for my real estate class when I stopped to check this blog and read Anonymous 8:15...am speechless...under what rock has Mike Knoras been living, I mean really...all one has to do is read this blog to know just about every location that drug deals are going down in this town. I mean get real people...are all the old people serving on these boards completely senile or what? If I was out of school, I would be screaming at every board meeting...do they expect the citizens to go and handcuff these people and deliver them to the police or what?
DeleteThese thing have been reported to the police. Nothing was done.
DeleteAnonymous 9:48, Selectman Knoras doesn't believe you and he said so at the meeting the other night...He wants you to call the anonymous tip line so the police are perfectly clear what is going on in our town. They want to hear from you because apparently the drug problem doesn't exist, unless citizens are reporting it.
DeleteWhich is why the police spend so much time on traffic enforcement, because people complained that there were too many speeders in this town.
I just saw a car go by my office on Mineral Street doing at least 40mph in a 25! This is crazy, where are the cops when you need them! Speeders are running amonk everywhere, must be the drug dealers racing to the next deal now that the cops are walking.
DeleteSelectman Knoras is clueless, he thinks that banning a medicinal marijuana dispensary is going to reduce the number of drug traffickers in town. He's just an old conservative who has no idea what he is doing and is probably totally baffled by the fact that the Town government having concentrated on reducing Town services might actually be part of the Town's problems.
DeleteLet's see could somebody call the police and tell them that drug deals have reputedly gone down: next to their office in parking lot at Go Go Gas, Parking lots at the Plaza and McDonald's, Jasinski's Market, Union Street, and Wall Street. Oh and you might want to point out to them that these are in Springfield, they might get confused and wander down to Bellows Falls. I wonder should we also send them a map so they know how to find these places. Perhaps we should send a map to Mr. Knoras so he knows where they are located as well
DeleteHow do you spell pathetic?
DeleteI believe its spelled Selectboard, but it might be two words Select Board. Or the simpler version is Knoras.
DeleteAnd Mineral Street, big white apartment house, behind high rise. That's another place that needs to be looked into for drugs.
DeleteWHAT A WASTE OF TIME !!! This meeting was another meeting where people's time was wasted !!!
ReplyDeleteSTOP BLAMING THE LANDLORDS PEOPLE. THE POLICE HAVE THE WHOLE STORY WRONG, FIRST THEY HAVE THE WRONG GUY, THE SHOOTER WAS FREAKIN' WHITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO JOKE. It makes me sick that anyone can blame anyone except the police themselves and the good ole' boys who run this town and steal your money, then save it in a interest bearing account while YOUR CHILDREN suffer and grow up with LESS. Are you glad that you moved to Vermont? I feel like I live in the GHETTO but I pay taxes like I live in Beverly Hills. really.......
Have to agree with the waste of time comment. Time for this Selectboard to take early retirement since we don't have retroactive retirement available.
DeleteWhat did you expect? This is a town that is proud of being home to Homer Simpson, my God did you think the cartoon board was going to step up and say they had a plan? There is no plan! You think that meeting last night was not planned out before it started on who would talk and what would be said, if you don't then you live in dreamland.
DeleteThis is the problem today with America. Nobody knows how to fix anything without throwing more money at it! Hire this guy, add this position and get more HCRS experts working with the town on how to deal with gangs or whatever. Problem solved.
So what is the plan. I know add something to the ballot for us all to vote on that adds more people to the public dole, then we all will be safer. All the drugs will go away because we can teach the dealers that "they are hurting members of the community and their parents" (yeah that's a good one).
People complain on here all the time about the angry mob going after the schools and town, well folks it's time for that mob to light the touches!!
Last night was more egregious than usual, given the fact they were requested repeatedly to introduce motions and to at least make it a standing agenda item and refused to do anything. That is in a wholly different league than the school board -- they didn't even start on a plan.
DeleteT'was a fine meetin. The citizens got together to vent their steam, the Selectboard nodded sagely, and fended off any rash attempts at doing anything at all. It was clearly appropriate to decline to set this as a permanent agenda item, if they did that they would be forced to discuss it if there wasn't a mob present, and of course there won't be a mob present in the future so they won't have to discuss it at all. Very nicely done we have very astute politicians in this Town.
DeleteHmm, are you suggesting that people shouldn't plan what they want to say in advance of the meeting? What is wrong with planning. We asked for it to be put on the agenda because we wanted the issue to get addressed and then we tried to get the word out to everyone to come and support the effort. It is no secret that a group of us came together to try to address this problem. We need more people coming together on this.
DeleteNo, we don't need you get people all stirred up and organized Ethan. It is much preferrable if the citizenry just shows up and makes random comments preferrably about lowering taxes. What do you want they already had those nice little forums with the horse and pony shows, all the anonymous' on here will tell you we don't want the government to actually do anything.
DeleteDear Ethan (the smartest guy in Springfield) I believe what Anonymous 4:56 was talking about the Select Board and town officals not the town people having a plan. I was there and without a doubt that board was not going to let the police chief talk or let the issue get out of hand. They got away pretty easy. I assume you will be running for selectman and school board not election Ethan, right? Then you can educate us all on what's right and wrong, and most importantly how to do things. The coming weeks will decide how effective that meeting was, I don't think I'll hold my breath.
DeleteAnonymous 6:00 AM, it depends upon whether this is the last assault that the young progressives in Town make on the Selectboard which is the bastion of old timer conservatism in the Town. If they keep the pressure on, it could mark the beginning of real change in Springfield. Just depends if the public rallies to support them or not.
DeleteWell, if you keep forcing them to move their meetings to alternative locations because of the size of the crowd you might get their attention eventually. Notice they don't like performing in front of crowds -- I don't think the Board Chairman normally dismisses people and then proceeds with a public meeting. What was that all about...oh you are now dismissed, move along we have some private dithering to do.
DeleteEthan thank you to you and others that got up to speak last. Hold the boards feet to the fire about the officer foot patrol in the down town. The other thing we need them doing is using Ozzie the K9 dogs on these walks around town. Guaranteed that dog would be hitting on people or places maybe that is the probable cause we need to have the police go in.
ReplyDeleteYes Ethan, that was very nice. Now please go away and don't bother us anymore.
Deleteyou see Ethan.... this was all thought out and planned long ago.
Deleteask anybody with a "certificate of public good".
Take a look at the non-profits that "earned" a page in the TOWN'S annual report.
Ethan,
If you say anything real, you are just pushed away...
Think about it...
The Town that made Hitler's Bombing list is now
"chicken sh*t" over a Jersy boy with a pee-shooter..
Look at the politics behind this town and then FOLLOW THE MONEY......
There are some nasty old farts here still holding on with no real clue to what the future entails. As long as they and their friends hold power and get your money they will not make ANY changes.
Ethan, your not alone. We wish you the best of luck.
Stay niave for your own health.
Whistle Blower, not sure which not for profits you are taking aim at, but tend to agree about the fact that there does appear that the Selectboard needs an infusion of young progressive blood. The old conservatives are either intentionally trying to brush off the people advocating change, or they are just clueless as to how to do anything except talk about expenses.
DeleteAlpin Jack, and your many other aliases....
DeleteWe don't need any "progressives" either..
Now look, you come off as a shill.
So don't trol my posts....
All the b.s. you spout and you want to tread on me by saying you haven't read the Town Anual Report.
My point was a "you can't handle the truth"
God bless guys like Ethan, but beware of X-ray vision.
Alpin Jack you shutter your trap! We need more conservatives like Ethan McNaughton holding the Town accountable. You just can't deal with the truth like Whistle Blower says. We need to get all those Progressives off the board. So you just be quiet!
DeleteTranslating this series of comments has been a bit challenging. How is Julian using the terms "conservative" and "progressive"? What is Whistleblower talking about regarding "x-ray vision" and who is Alpin Jack "a shill" for? and who is Ozzie?
DeleteOzzie is the local police K-9.
DeleteYou people just voted in 2 new board members this year and already want to recall them. WHAT A LAUGH! You wanted change and what a surprise .....it's not working for you. Maybe you should have spent a little more time vesting those candidates & knowing what they really stand for. Next time do your home work, it just might make some of you more informed voters
ReplyDeleteI didn't vote for Knoras, are you kidding.
DeleteAmen. There were more outspoken critics in favor of reform that weren't elected. So now we have a do-gooder that thinks "coming together as a community" is a solution. Working great, isn't it?
DeleteOh by the way jack-off, MK was the ONLY selectman to stand up for the taxpayers and vote no on the town budget.
Yeah, you basically established my point. Major problem in town is that few people other than conservatives run for the Town Board and all they know how to do is vote against the budget, or cut services. They have no idea how to grow the Grand list which is shrinking and is why taxes are going up. When presented with a problem like they were at the last meeting they kind of sit there like deer caught in the headlights, completely clueless and afraid to make motions. Then they do stupid things like ask all of the Union Street residents to stick their hands up so the drug traffickers know who to visit next.
DeleteIf you want them to pass a resolution or Ordinance, it might help to write it for them. I know that the motion requests were pretty simple at the meeting, but you are dealing with a limited number of brain cells here so you don't want to overwhelm them.
DeleteMr. Knoras also voted no on selling 40,000 gallons of water to a business, just as water rates are skyrocketing. Thankfully the 4 other members had the understanding that there are less and less people living and working in this town and we are way below the water usage during the height of the shops.
DeleteImagine what your water bills might be like in the future if Mr. Knoras was able to convince two others that selling 40,000 gallons was a bad idea.
I'm more than a bit concerned that when at Riverside graduation, I overheard Ozzie the cop dogs handler say (looking at the subject in question and his family) "If there's any trouble with them, don't expect me to go over there." GOD'S HONEST TRUTH!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 10:25 said that Ozzie was the K-9 do we have a talking dog on the force, if so then maybe they should have it speak at the next Selectboard Meeting.
Delete