An overflow crowd in search of answers and advice filled Londonderry’s Town Hall Monday night. The residents are concerned about a series of suspicious fires and unsolved burglaries stretching back more than 10 years.
State officials, including Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn, Rep. Oliver Olsen and Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver provided an update for the more than 150 residents of area towns. Flynn, accompanied by three members of the Vermont state police, said investigators are making progress.
"This is something that we are continuing to look at; and I am here to tell you that we will continue to look at this until there is an arrest is made. We will not stop. I do make that promise to you here today. And there will be an arrest made." - Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn
"It is not something that is becoming stagnant and in a file in a back room," he said. "This is something that we are continuing to look at; and I am here to tell you that we will continue to look at this until there is an arrest is made. We will not stop. I do make that promise to you here today. And there will be an arrest made."
Several residents spoke about their concerns for their personal safety and what they should do if confronted. Many also lamented the lack of police patrols and the speed at which they could respond. The nearest state police barracks is in Rockingham, near Bellows Falls, about 20 miles away.
Windham County state's attorney Tracy Shriver said residents could protect themselves but urged them to first call law enforcement.
"You have a right to defend to your home. You have a duty to defend the people that you love and are there with you," she said. "And you have the right to protect your property. If you are going to go overboard, then that's something I am going to go look at. You don't have to do nothing, but the first thing you're going to do is call 9-1-1."
The Windham County community – an area of many second homes near the Stratton and Bromley ski resorts – has experienced about a dozen fires termed suspicious by state authorities over the past decade. State police say they have devoted full investigative resources to the unsolved cases. Another suspicious fire on May 5 led Rep. Olsen to call for the special community meeting and bring in law enforcement officials to assure the area residents their concerns were being heard and acted upon. Olsen says a $5,000 reward has been posted for information that leads to an arrest in the arson cases.
Commissioner Flynn said the increase in burglaries was likely due for demand for opiates and heroin, a problem that he says reaching unprecedented levels. But he also added that community meetings like this were the best way to galvanize action and help law enforcement arrest suspects.
