Richmond and the "Richmond 12"

Editorial:

Richmond NH is located in the Southwest corner of NH. Richmond is 10 miles South of Keene NH , 10 miles East of Brattleboro Vt. To the South Richmond borders MA. There are only 6 paved roads in Richmond. There is only one traffic light (blinking) at the intersection of Rt 119 and Rt 32. The population is approximately 1100. Of these 1100 over 100 are volunteers in various boards and departments in Richmond. Richmond does not have a Post Office or it's own Zip code. There is no public school in Richmond. The fire and EMT departments are all volunteers. The Police department is part time. The largest employer is the 4 Corners store (6 employees). The total town budget is less than $900,000.

The "Richmond 12" are members of the planning board and zoning board. They are teachers , realtors, and retireees. Most serve on other boards , such as conservation, historical, and energy committees. They do not receive any money for the hundreds of hours they volunteer each year. Most have lived in Richmond for 20, 30, or more years.

The Town of Richmond and the "Richmond 12" are being sued by the Saint Benedict Center. The SBC is suing the Town of Richmond for $4 million dollars. The SBC is suing the 12 individual members of the zoning and planning boards for $100,000 EACH. If the SBC wins , some of these 12 individuals might lose their homes and any savings they might have.

The founders of SBC moved to Richmond from Still River MA in 1988 after they lost a court case. None of the original members of the SBC lived in Richmond. Present members of the SBC came from MA, LA , GA, CA , VA, and Canada. NONE came from Richmond.

If you were to drive into Richmond today you would see "We Support the Richmond 12" signs in many yards and "We Support the Richmond 12" stickers on many cars. The SBC has big money backing them. Those opposed to the SBC have little resources but are trying as hard as they can to save their town. They do not want to "MAKE RICHMOND HOLY" which is the goal of the SBC.

Supposedly the town attorney has filed a brief to the court in Keene asking to remove the Richmond 12 from the case.

People in Richmond are afraid to email their friends because the SBC attorneys have requested copies of any emails that anyone has sent to anyone concerning the SBC.

Updates on the court cases will continue to be posted here whenever I recieve information.

(ps: I continue to be threatened by anonymous phone calls and letters. I have been told not to blog anymore. I will not be intimidated. I will continue to post information on this site.)