Monument could be righted this morning. . .investigation continues

Town officials say the veteran’s war memorial could be back in its place for the Memorial Day Parade this weekend

Town Administrator Don McLelland said Thursday that the Laconia Monument Company has agreed to reinstall the granite monument. It was toppled by a car in an apparent act of vandalism last week.

Frank Shaw of Laconia Monument said the work would probably be done Monday morning around 8:30 a.m.

“It’s a large piece of granite, maybe four tons,” he said. “The crane on our truck can’t pick it up so I think they’re going to use the town’s pay loader. The hardest part of the project may be just getting the stone off the ground high enough to put slings around it and lift it back into place," he added.

“You’ve got be careful when you could pick it up because you could chip it,” Shaw said. “Then there’s another piece of granite there on the ground that’s used as a base They used to put lead between the joists to hold it because you can’t have granite sitting on granite, it’s not stable. We’ll probably use a setting compound or some silicone.”

The whole project could take about a half-hour, according to Shaw.

The town also recently sent information about the two historic light poles also ruined in the incident to the Laconia Electric Company. “They’re going to see if they can get replicas,” McLelland said. “The ones we had were destroyed, they can’t be repaired. They were made of black wrought iron and they were smashed in too many places. They don’t make those anymore but there are companies out there that make all kinds of replicas of these things and we hope we can find one.”

McLelland said the town has also been in touch with a landscaping company that will refashion the small grassy area around the monument with flowers and grass.

The town’s insurance should pay for about 80-percent of the project, which will probably cost between six and nine thousand dollars, he added.

Town historian Wallace Rhodes said the monument was erected at the site back in 1919, after Armistice Day ended World War I. “I have a newspaper article from November 19, 1919 that talks about the big celebration that was held in the town at the time,” Rhodes said. “I also have a clipping that says that Moses Sargent, who was superintendent of the Belmont Mill at the time, donated the stone to the town and it cost $5,000. But I can’t believe that in 1919 a piece of granite like that would cost$5,000.”

The newspaper articles also indicate that the town paid for the original plaque, which listed Belmont servicemen who died in the war. Since that time, the names of several other residents who died in military service have been added to the stone. “I think (the memorial) was to honor all veterans but the names that were added were the ones who died,” Rhodes said.

The historic light poles were transferred from Main Street to the Monument Road site several years ago, town officials said.

Meanwhile, Police Chief Vinnie Baiochetti said that his department is continuing to investigate the crime and two other acts of vandalism that occurred in the village the same night. “It’s still a very active investigation,” Baiochetti said. “Officers were out taking statement again (Wednesday) night. Officers are still working very hard on the case.”

Detective Judy Estes is in charge of the investigation.

“Right now it (the crime) is considered ‘conduct after an accident,’ which is basically leaving the scene of an accident,” the chief said. “That’s a misdemeanor and the punishment could be a year in the country jail and a $2,000 fine. But if it’s a historic landmark, there are a couple of problems. It could be ‘criminal mischief’ when someone either purposely or recklessly damages property of another, or of historic significance, with damages in excess of $1,000. In that case, it would be a Class B felony and you could go to jail for 1-to-7 years.”

However, Chief Baiochetti said that pursuing two different charges on the same incident could be a legal challenge so he considers the “conduct after an accident” charge as the likely course of action. “But we don’t have the whole story yet,” he added. “Once we figure out what happened and are able to make something of it all, we’ll have a better idea.”