To the Editor:
As Hanover's Town Manager, I feel it is appropriate to respond to your September 23 house editorial regarding the enforcement priorities of the Hanover Police Department.
The Dartmouth Community may not be aware of the numerous problems experienced by the town in the Old Dartmouth Cemetery over the past few years, largely resulting from the activities of groups of young adults who have used the cemetery as a party location. The town and the College have in recent years spent tens of thousands of dollars repairing headstones which have been defaced, broken, or pushed over by groups of young adults. Typically, the damage has been discovered the morning after, and alcohol bottles and cans have generally littered the scene.
I have asked the Police Department to keep a close watch on the cemetery to minimize the likelihood of future damage by Dartmouth students and others. The Old Dartmouth Cemetery is public property, owned by the Town of Hanover. It is also a cemetery with historical significance, containing the graves of some of Hanover's earliest residents and many of Dartmouth's important figures. The Town does not intend to allow senseless desecration of this treasure through oversight or underenforcement of applicable law. We also feel that a town cemetery is an inappropriate place for partying. For these reasons, we ask for the Dartmouth community's cooperation with our efforts to end the use of Old Dartmouth Cemetery for parties or for consumption of alcohol.
With regard to the arrest and prosecution of alcohol possession by an underage individual, the Hanover Police Department has not revised its approach in recent months. Possession of alcohol by a minor is illegal in New Hampshire, regardless of whether or not the individual is intoxicated. The Police Department will continue to make arrests for underage possession, particularly if it occurs on public property.
