'Constant bickering is getting old'

From left, Selectmen Jason Cole, Karen Gerrish and Bob Frizzell listen as one resident lambastes town officials for their constant bickering, saying it's not good for the town. (Harrison Thorp photo)

By Harrison Thorp

The Lebanon Voice

LEBANON - Selectmen’s meeting gadfly Chris Gilpatrick – for one day at least - stayed out of the historic Facebook fray this week that pitted Rescue Department backers, their detractors and others just putting their two cents in as well.

The belligerent back-and-forth posted on The Lebanon Voice’s Facebook page beginning Tuesday was spurred after the online newspaper revealed that Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole had “Liked” a Facebook comment made a week ago by a Rescue volunteer that noted Gilpatrick “will be eating his words when "…(Rescue) volunteers have to come and rescue him sometime...”

The original comment string began after Gilpatrick accused Cole of stalling on presenting Rescue’s budget to selectmen and the Budget Committee.

On Tuesday night during a selectmen’s meeting Gilpatrick agreed that the Facebook sniping

between town officials was bad for the town and that was why he stayed out of the day’s negative postings.

Tuesday’s comment string starts at 10:02 a.m. with Cole saying, “The fact that this is news shows that it’s a slow news day,” and ends 108 comments later at 9:55 p.m. last night appropriately with a comment,” Well it appears that there are quite a few people that just want the “BS” to end. Let’s hope we all live long enough to see it happen.”

At the end of the selectmen’s meeting a resident fumed openly at selectmen about the constant and public feuding between town officials.

“The constant bickering is getting old,” said the resident who asked not to be identified. “You are our leaders, so I just don’t get this stuff. Can’t somebody just say, ‘I’m going to be a bigger person?’ It’s not good for the town.”