Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer

Bellows Falls Police Sgt. John Dunfee and officer Dave Bemis met with the Westminster Selectboard Tuesday to talk about the plan.

Westminster Selectboard Chairman Craig Allen said he would like to see if it would be feasible to have the Bellows Falls department patrol parts of Route 121 in North Westminster as well as the Twin Falls swimming area and a stretch of Route 5 that leads into Bellows Falls.

"We have a contract with the sheriff's department, but if you guys cover this area, they can maybe get more done in other parts of town," Allen said.

"We go through your part of town anyway," Dunfee said. "I don't have a problem with that."

Any income from tickets written in those areas would go to Westminster, and Allen said he wanted to see if it would make sense for Westminster to pursue the arrangement.

But the idea is a long way from being a done deal.

The Westminster Selectboard Tuesday only endorsed the plan and encouraged Town Manager Glenn Smith to begin the dialogue with the village of Bellows Falls.

The Bellows Falls trustees have yet to talk about the arrangement, and it is unclear how much Westminster would be willing to pay for the coverage, in the hope that revenue from increased traffic tickets would help offset the service.

Dunfee and Bemis were at the meeting in Westminster Tuesday to talk about complaints from some North Westminster residents who were accusing the Bellows Falls department of parking its cars on North Westminster property.

The North Westminster residents, who remained unnamed, also wanted to know why the town was not getting ticket revenue from the stops along Route 121.

Dunfee said his officers are not parking in Westminster.

A resident painted the road and put rope up to mark the boundaries between the two municipalities.

"There's been a little turf war going on up there," Dunfee said.

He also said that the speed gun is usually pointed toward the traffic coming out of Bellows Falls, and therefore the village is keeping most of the revenue.

Sometimes it is only safe to stop the driver once the vehicle is in Westminster, Dunfee said, but if the crime is committed in Bellows Falls, then that is where the revenue ends up.

Dunfee made it clear that his officers have the statutory right to cite speeders anywhere in the state.

If someone is stopped for speeding in Westminster, that revenue is sent to the town, Dunfee said.

After Dunfee and Bemis talked about the existing condition in North Westminster, the two sides started talking about the possibility of the two municipalities working more formally together.

Dunfee stressed that the idea was coming from Westminster and not from his department.

Westminster contracts with the Windham County Sheriff's Department, and Dunfee said it could create some "bad blood" with former Bellows Falls police chief Keith Clark if he hears that the Bellows Falls department is trying to take away some his business.

Clark now heads the sheriff's department.

The Bellows Falls trustees will likely take the idea up at a future meeting.

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.