SEABROOK TOWN NOTEBOOK: Three officers will beef up police force

Seabrook will soon welcome three police officers to the force, two of whom will be familiar faces to residents.

r Michael Cawley, a 16-year veteran of the department, will return to active duty in Seabrook after completing his second tour of duty in Iraq. Cawley, 43, was a level E8 sergeant in the Army Reserve, stationed in Baghdad. He serves with the First Battalion, 304th Regiment, 98th Division out of Londonderry, N.H.

Police Chief Patrick Manthorn recently had lunch with Cawley and said he will hopefully be back sometime around May.

Cawley earned a Purple Heart during his first tour of duty in Iraq after being shot in the hand on Jan. 6, 2005, during a 12-hour firefight in Fallujah.

After returning to the force in September 2005 following his first tour of duty, Cawley volunteered for his second tour, which took place over the past 18 months.

r Kevin Gelineau will be returning to the Police Department soon after completing 13 weeks at the New Hampshire Police Academy. Gelineau has been with the Seabrook Police Department for about 21/2 years, serving as a dispatcher and patrolman.

r Justin Murphy, a new face in the Police Department, has also just completed 13 weeks at the academy, Manthorn said.

New and returning officers ride with a department field training officer during their first weeks, Manthorn said, after which they will be out on full patrol.

Manthorn said the addition of the three men will reduce payroll costs because they will be able to fill three shifts that have had to be filled at overtime rates by the other officers.

With summer ahead, Manthorn said getting the three men back on patrol will come in handy. In May, Manthorn hopes to renew patrols of the beach during good weather.

The department's beach-related vehicles — a boat and two all-terrain vehicles — are also getting the onceover to get ready for the busy summer.

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The Seabrook Fire Department was recently given a Class 3 ranking after an insurance industry review, according to fire Chief Jeff Brown. The ranking is shared by only about 7 percent of the fire departments in the nation, Brown said, and should help bring down or at least keep home fire insurance rates from going up.

The recent review of fire resources looked into manpower and training, financial support, equipment and vehicles and station locations, Brown said.

He's hoping to make some alterations to the department that are not costly, but which could raise the town's ranking even higher, he said. That could also lower fire insurance rates in town.

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Brown received a hearty "well done" from Seabrook Village District Commissioner Dick Maguire at Wednesday's selectmen's meeting. Maguire praised members of the Fire Department for their response to a potentially devastating fire on Hooksett Street on a windy St. Patrick's Day in the tightly packed beach residential district.

Maguire said quick action by the Seabrook Fire Department, as well as those from Hampton and other surrounding seacoast towns, kept the fire contained to one home. Although the home was destroyed, Maguire said the diligent firefighting professionals prevented the fire from growing and burning its way through many more homes, especially its two neighbors.

Brown said the wind gave firefighters trouble on St. Patrick's Day, but the coordinated actions of firefighters and the town's strong mutual aid relationships with neighboring communities helped to keep other homes from being destroyed.

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On April 9, selectmen will hold a public hearing on the proposed fee increases for a variety of business permits. The recommendations to raise fees came from the Fee Study Committee. Selectman Bob Moore is holding the hearing to give the public an opportunity to comment.

Included are fees for initial business license and annual renewals, as well as health inspection permits for restaurants and convenience stores.

Copies of the proposed rate increases are available at Town Hall.

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Selectmen are also reviewing the policy that governs what can be shown on Seabrook's cable access Channel 22, after receiving a complaint from a local church. The church requested the inclusion of its service's information on Channel 22 recently and was told such notices are not allowed by the town's cable policies.

Selectmen tabled the discussion until next week, when they will have time to review the policy and consider the letters of complaint.

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Lovers of '50s music will want to reserve April 5, for that's when Missing Loves — a team from the Relay For Life for the American Cancer Society — will hold its '50s Sock Hop from 7 to 11 p.m.

The dance will take place at Seabrook's America Legion Hall on Walton Road. Admission is $7, and those who attend (only those 18 or older) are urged to dress for the occasion as DJs Peg and Greg Brown spin the tunes at the hop.

Entertainment includes prize drawings, a 50/50 raffle, games and, of course, dancing.

To donate, call Dawnne Marie Stevens at 603-502-4144.

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Trinity United Church will present New England gospel singer Ken Fernald in concert Saturday evening, April 5, at 7. The concert takes place at the church's parish house, at the corner of Route 1 and Folly Mill Road, next to the post office.

Popular throughout the area and considered by many to be the "Burl Ives of Gospel Music," Fernald, a former radio and TV host, sings old hymns of faith.

Admission is free but an offering will be taken.

For more information, call 603-474-7900.

Angeljean Chiaramida covers Seabrook for The Daily News. She can be reached at 978- 462-6666, ext. 3271 or by e-mail at achiaramida@newburyportnews. com.

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