Mayhew Funeral Home.....

[martbri7]

My buddies Dad passed and his wake was at Mayhew's Funeral home in Meredith. As I turned on to the road I pulled in Mayhew's parking lot and across the street a homeowner had her music plenty loud enough to hear, and signs on her property protesting about Mayhew's new cremation room. This was very heart breaking to see, the music wasn't bad, but loud enough to have every mourner ask why? I did read a recent letter to the editor about how this homeowner got her words turned in a recent article. I felt bad that my buddy in tough times had to deal with a situation like this. I'm sure she has a right, but it's a wrong way of doing it. Very disturbing signs... sick to my stomach to take a picture.

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/story...iam-bill-photo

[ITD]

Here a link to the story, http://www.citizen.com/news/inter_la...9bb30f31a.html

I'm speechless honestly, but she was there before the funeral home....... still not the way to go about it, reminds me of the "Stugarts" scene on the Sopranos where Tony anchors his boat and blasts the music outside a guys house.

[fatlazyless]

Google " Meredith Selectman appeal ZBA decision citizen.com Meredith July 27, 2011" and you can read about a Citizen.com, Bea Lewis article, concerning a lawsuit recently filed by the Meredith Selectman verses the Meredith Zoning Board.

Here's the 2nd and 3rd paragraph penned by Bea Lewis in the July 27 Laconia Citizen.

..........

"The land use board's decision permits industrial uses on residentially zoned land within the watershed of Lake Waukewan that serves as the town's drinking water supply.

The property at issue is located at 22 Foundry Avenue, behind the Old Province Common Shopping Center off Rt 104. It originally consisted of two lots that were merged in 2009."

..........

Ok, so what's the big deal and how does this relate to Carolyn Pillsbury and the recent installation of a propane fired crematorium into the Mayhew Funeral Home?

Well, it's the same Meredith Zoning Board that approved both different decisions: the 22 Foundry Ave industrial use, that is close to the town's drinking water supply, and the crematorium at Mayhew's. In the case of 22 Foundry Ave, the Meredith Selectman disagreed enough to file a lawsuit against this Meredith Zoning Board decision which is a very rare thing to do. So, it questions the Meredith Zoning Board's decision making, and their ability to decide what is good or bad for Meredith!!!

The two locations are about one half mile apart, going from the Mayhew Funeral Home up on Rt 3, and the abutting residential Cataldo Ave, down to Foundry Ave which is just above Lake Waukewan.

While a zoning board decision might be legal, it might not be all that good for the local residents. Consider that a very tall cell phone tower could be a legal construction, but do you want one built close to you?

Well, a propane fired, human remains and casket crematorium might be a legal use but do you want one built next to your home, where you have lived for the last 15-years, what with the variability of wind direction and barometric pressure as applied to a propane fired crematorium?

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I would not want a funeral home built next to where I live. I am glad the land next to our house is in current use.

[SAMIAM]

She has a right to post the signs....but to interrupt a funeral,especially of a veteran by playing loud music is pretty disrespectful.
You'd think she'd want to make friends with them in case she ever becomes a "client"

[ITD]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

"The land use board's decision permits industrial uses on residentially zoned land within the watershed of Lake Waukewan that serves as the town's drinking water supply.

The property at issue is located at 22 Foundry Avenue, behind the Old Province Common Shopping Center off Rt 104. It originally consisted of two lots that were merged in 2009."

..........

Ok, so what's the big deal and how does this relate to Carolyn Pillsbury and the recent installation of a propane fired crematorium into the Mayhew Funeral Home?

Well, it's the same Meredith Zoning Board that approved both different decisions: the 22 Foundry Ave industrial use, that is close to the town's drinking water supply, and the crematorium at Mayhew's. In the case of 22 Foundry Ave, the Meredith Selectman disagreed enough to file a lawsuit against this Meredith Zoning Board decision which is a very rare thing to do. So, it questions the Meredith Zoning Board's decision making, and their ability to decide what is good or bad for Meredith!!!

The two locations are about one half mile apart, going from the Mayhew Funeral Home up on Rt 3, and the abutting residential Cataldo Ave, down to Foundry Ave which is just above Lake Waukewan.

While a zoning board decision might be legal, it might not be all that good for the local residents. Consider that a very tall cell phone tower could be a legal construction, but do you want one built close to you?

Well, a propane fired, human remains and casket crematorium might be a legal use but do you want one built next to your home, where you have lived for the last 15-years, what with the variability of wind direction and barometric pressure as applied to a propane fired crematorium?

What type of government does Meredith have? In my Mass. town we have town meeting, a decision like this, essentially a zoning change, would require a town meeting vote. Was that required for the zoning change to happen when the funeral home was built?

[fatlazyless]

The Meredith Zoning Board, sometime earlier this year, approved the installation of the propane fired crematorium as an accessory use to the already existing funeral home, which had already been there for some number of years.

The aggrieved neighbor to the funeral home, who very obviously is no shrinking violet, lives directly across the road from it and has a direct, up-front and personal view of the stainless crematorium chimney that's located down the top of the opposite end of the building. She has created a front yard visage of ghoulish cemetary or funeral home theater art that includes about ten different black and white figures, about 4' high, aka ghosts, skeletons, ghouls, the grim reaper (I think), plus a large educational style sign board that lists a number of carcinogenic chemicals that presumably come from a crematory smoke stack.

I drove by today at about 3-pm today just for a quick look-see, after hitting the very nearby Meredith McDonalds, and there was no funky music what-so-ever being played at the time. The front yard is located immediately next door and a little down hill from the RE Max Bayside realty building across from McDonalds if anyone is interested. It's definitely worth a quick look-see. Maybe someone can post some photos of the front yard theater ghouls into this thread here? Photos can really add a lot to a news item like this.

The Meredith ZBA could have held a public hearing to get the immediate neighborhood people's opinions on the crematorium because there are a number, about five, different single family homes close to it before making a decision as opposed to just approving it.

Likewise, back in September 2009, the five member Board of Selectmen voted unananimously to purchase a $900,000 Pierce "Tower One" fire truck at a Monday, 5:30-pm monthly meeting as opposed to letting the voters decide via a town warrant vote. $900,000 is a big ticket item for a town of 5500 with an annual budget of $11,000,000 not counting the public schools that are shared with three other towns, but I suppose it was considered the same as a single motor vehicle just like a Ford F250 pickup for the DPW, or something.

[KayakinKid]

While I don't necessarily agree with her actions, I can certainly understand her reaction with the signs if her concerns have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears. But disturbing the funeral service for someone is just wrong.

And Mr. Mayhew would be wrong when he stated that a body doesn't give off a smell during the cremation process. As someone who worked on the same site as a crematorium, I can assure him that it is a smell that is not soon or easily forgotten. Granted, those few occasions where we could smell something was because a person of a larger size was being cremated. So unless he's got one heckuva filtering system in that crematorium, someone downwind is going to be a very unpleasant person one day.

Also, there are times when the cremation process will put out a great deal of black smoke. Again, usually with a larger person because of the fat content. There were several times that the local fire department showed up, because someone driving by thought the place was on fire, not knowing that it was a crematorium.

[P-3 Guy]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

The Meredith Zoning Board, sometime earlier this year, approved the installation of the propane fired crematorium as an accessory use to the already existing funeral home, which had already been there for some number of years.

Are you sure that this went before the Meredith ZBA or Planning Board? It doesn't sound like it from the Citizen article linked in ITD's post above:

"Code Enforcement Officer Bill Edney said an administrative decision was made that the crematorium was an ancillary use of an existing business.

As such, the project did not need planning board approval and no public hearing was held which would have required abutters to be notified."

NO PUBLIC HEARING. It sounds like Bill Edney made an "administrative decision" that a crematorium was an "ancillary use" to an existing business, and therefore no board action or public hearing was necessary.

[ITD]

Ok, I just reread the article I posted and answered my own question.

"Pillsbury said when she brought her residentially zoned property in 1978 there was a wooded lot across the street. About five years later, a funeral home was built on the lot which is in the central business district."

I feel bad for her, but when you buy your house and it's across the street from the central business district, you have to expect businesses to be your neighbor along with all the accompanying noise, traffic and other issues associated with businesses. I really don't see that she has a leg to stand on here......

[upthesaukee]

...It is like buying a house next door to a race track or concert venue, then complaining about the noise.

If the property across the street was zoned commercial, her property would have been priced taking that into consideration, and she should realize that she may not like whatever business was going to occupy that commercial lot. And if she didn't know, her beef would be with the seller or RE agent for not disclosing that.

Bottom line, while you may have a beef with the funeral home, is is rude and disrespectful to attempt to disrupt a funeral service. Hope she realizes what goes around comes around.

[SIKSUKR]

I think she is dead wrong. She doesn't have a body of evidence to support her position. I do admit though that she is in a grave situation.

[KayakinKid]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

I think she is dead wrong. She doesn't have a body of evidence to support her position. I do admit though that she is in a grave situation.

Well, someone's up early with a twisted mind! LOL It's nice to know that I'm not the only twisted one in this neck of the woods.

[Meredith lady]

Peter Mayhew is a personal friend of mine. We have been friends for 26 years. That being said, Carolyn Pillsbury has a right to complain, write letters to the editor, swear at Peter and his employees, and complain to our town government and police department. She does NOT have the right to shout out at people during calling hours and services, wave posters in their faces, and in general upset people who are already upset. Show some intelligence and respect. What good does her tirade against the funeral home have to do with people coming to pay their respects to someone? There is a time and place for everything...

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by KayakinKid

... where we could smell something ....

Also, there are times when the cremation process will put out a great deal of black smoke. Again, usually with a larger person because of the fat content. There were several times that the local fire department showed up, because someone driving by thought the place was on fire, not knowing that it was a crematorium.

Being situated so very close to both the Meredith McDonald's and Mayhew's Funeral Home, it's probably not easy to id what one is smell'n: Say-hey, is that Uncle Eddie, or a 1/3 lb angus, bacon & cheese?

Definitely, this case should be named: "The AGGRIEVED vs. The BEREAVED!" ...

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

I think she is dead wrong. She doesn't have a body of evidence to support her position. I do admit though that she is in a grave situation.

Her method for handling the issues at hand really burns me up. I think she just needs a stiff response from the funeral home, and then bury the matter for good.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

Her method for handling the issues at hand really burns me up. I think she just needs a stiff response from the funeral home, and then bury the matter for good.

That was funny and gave me a good chuckle.

[John A. Birdsall]

I think that the funeral home has a responsibility to the family of the departed. When this started during the funeral or wake if you will, they should have called the police, telling them that this women is disturbing the peace (no pun intended) and if that is no good, then to go to the court and have a cease and desist (spelling??) order.

[Gearhead]

Okay, I'm eating a PB&J and I read the part about the black smoke and the fat. That's pretty gross. Wouldn't it would be nice, though, to be able to capture some of the drippings and reuse them to fuel the (diesel) hearse? I'd call it the Fatmobile.

The same goes for the folks who do liposuction. I'd definitely own a TDI if I were in that field!

[Argie's Wife]

Considering the funeral home is somewhat changing the use of their building by installing a crematorium, which will impact the neighborhood's quality of life and likely decrease property values, I can't see how the town's ZBA can approve this requested adjustment.

I sympathize with the home owners in the area, but they do get a hearing with the ZBA to express their concerns about this proposed changed. The hearing is open to the public - any and every one can attend. If Ms. Pillsbury is so outraged she should drum up more support for her cause - the hearing is the place to make a racket about the issue - NOT while someone's funeral is going on. Shame on her for that - what is she thinking by doing to that to grieving families?!

[jrc]

Why would the ZBA be involved? The business is in an area zoned for that type of business. You only need the ZBA, when you bend or break the zoning rules, you don't need their permission too follow the rules.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by jrc

Why would the ZBA be involved? The business is in an area zoned for that type of business. You only need the ZBA, when you bend or break the zoning rules, you don't need their permission too follow the rules.

The ZBA should be involved, in my opinion.

Quick list of why that's my opinion:
1) The use of the land is being changed.
2) The nature of the business being conducted is being changed.
3) The business will be adding a device (the "oven") that has to meet strict fire codes; access to the business and the abutters' buildings should be checked by the local fire dept (fire code need to be met, in other words).
4) The business will have a chimney that they did not have before, and the town should have some rules for appropriate roof lines, etc.
5) The chimney will be in-use 12 months of the year, so smells, soot, and other considerations should be made for the abutters during the "open windows" seasons.
6) The new service could increase traffic in the area; can the parking lot handle those potential increases? Is there a safe pull-out/pull-in view of the driveway and parking area?
(Really - why would this business want to have this new service on-site if they weren't trying to get more customers? This has to be a large initial investment for the funeral home, so they're certainly expecting it will pay off.)

7) With the potential increase in traffic for their services, can the funeral home's septic service handle that increase?

This is just my $0.02 as a lay-man. I'm not a builder nor am I on the ZBA, but I do know that this will have an impact on the area - that much is obvious. I certainly would not want this in my backyard unless I had assurances already that the impact on my home, the value of my home, and my quality of life would be miminal, if at all.

[bigpatsfan]

Originally Posted by Green's Basin Girl

I would not want a funeral home built next to where I live. I am glad the land next to our house is in current use.

Actually "current use" does not protect you against something like this happening to you. "Current use" is a way to reduce your tax bill. It does not state that you can "never" develop the land. All that needs to occur is for the land owner to pay a fee to change its use.

In fact, since the land next to you is over 10 acres, you should be concerned about someone building something large next to you. Either from the Town (School, Fire Station, transfer station) or from private industry (manufacturing plant, gas stations...etc).

What you want to have next to you is conservation land... much more difficult to change its use.

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

The ZBA should be involved, in my opinion.

Quick list of why that's my opinion:
1) The use of the land is being changed. The use has not changed, it is still a recognized function that falls under the definition of a funeral home.
2) The nature of the business being conducted is being changed.This also does not require a use change before the ZBA. At most a letter would need to be written to the person responsible for such matters at the town. If I wanted to convert my showroom to a retail space, I would only have to conform to the additional parking space requirements and can add in the on street parking that currently exists in my satisfaction of that requirement.
3) The business will be adding a device (the "oven") that has to meet strict fire codes; access to the business and the abutters' buildings should be checked by the local fire dept (fire code need to be met, in other words). How fire code pertains to this building is the only building that matters. The abutters and neighbors only become involved if you are handling hazardous waste and other such items. If you neighbor changed the zoning for his lot to comercial and opened a pizza joint, you would not be responsible for increasing your fire protection to a comercial standard for the type of business.
4) The business will have a chimney that they did not have before, and the town should have some rules for appropriate roof lines, etc. Cremetorium chimneys are typically stand alone units, not the same type that you pipe a woodstove into. The heat and gases would break down a tile flue chimney, therefore a metal style chimney is used and would full under the building inspector and local fire codes for proximity to combustable materials.
5) The chimney will be in-use 12 months of the year, so smells, soot, and other considerations should be made for the abutters during the "open windows" seasons. See answer statement 3
6) The new service could increase traffic in the area; can the parking lot handle those potential increases? Is there a safe pull-out/pull-in view of the driveway and parking area? The actual use of the building wouldn't change. It would still be considered an assembly structure and would have to have met the requirements in regard to parking and loading at that time. The use has not changed, they have just added an additional service that falls under the same service heading.
(Really - why would this business want to have this new service on-site if they weren't trying to get more customers? This has to be a large initial investment for the funeral home, so they're certainly expecting it will pay off.)

7) With the potential increase in traffic for their services, can the funeral home's septic service handle that increase? Same anwser as statement 6

This is just my $0.02 as a lay-man. I'm not a builder nor am I on the ZBA, but I do know that this will have an impact on the area - that much is obvious. I certainly would not want this in my backyard unless I had assurances already that the impact on my home, the value of my home, and my quality of life would be miminal, if at all.

See my answers above in the post. AW, your opinion stands, just giving you the perspective you said that you lacked.

Unfurtunately, the time to debate whether or not this business should be allowed to practice at this location has come and gone. When the initial plan was presented prior to construction, that is when they should have stood up. For all we know the initial application could state that a cremation oven would be installed at a later date and all the provisions required for that addition were met in the initial construction of the space. All it would take is a trip to the Meredith town offices and opening the file for this property. Heck you can do that for your neighbors as well if you so choose, so this women should be making sure that she has followed the letter of the law in concern to every contruction related activity performed at her residence. The table could be quickly turned. I am sure the town would like to find a reason to stop all the complaining[/

[Skip]

Great answers jmen.

Unfortunately the facts in this issue got skewed when, for whatever reason, FLL posted misinformation about the ZBA's alleged involvement.

A couple of things to point out. The Funeral Home is not located in a residential neighborhood, but is in a commercial zone where the business is and was an allowable use under Meredith's zoning regulations. The complainant's home is in an abutting residential zone, but if you GoogeMap the area you will see its an area wedged between to heavy use roadways (Route 3 and Route 104) which explains why the funeral home is in a commercial zone.

As the story explains, the owner of the business has secured all the required permits for the installation of the crematorium. Additionally the Meredith Code Enforcement officer reviewed the instllation and had ruled that under Meredith's zoning laws, a crematorium is an allowable use for a funeral home. Being ruled a ancillary function, the business owner was not required to appear before the Planning board nor seek a variance from the ZBA. FLL's assertion that the ZBA allowed this is false.

Now, does the complainant have an avenue of appeal available to her? Yes, under State law and clearly cited in Meredith's zoning ordinance, she clearly had the right to appeal the Code Enforcement Officer's ruling to the ZBA. The ZBA then would be required to have a public hearing and make a determination on the matter. If she was unhappy with that decision and a subsequent rehearing then she has the right to appeal to the Belknap Superior Court for a final ruling.

Likewise the business owner, if ruled against by the ZBA, could also appeal the decision to the Superior Court.

To sum it up the business owner has followed applicable State law and secured the necessary permits, and has obtained a decision from the Meredith Code Enforcement Officer that under Meredith's current zoning regulations the addition of the crematorium is an allowed ancillary use requiring no appearance before the Planning Board.

The complainant has, since May, not availed herself of her legal right to appeal to the Meredith ZBA but has chosen to protest the crematorium by attempting to harass innocent customers using the business for a legal purpose.

Only the complainant can answer as to why she has chosen not to follow the appropriate course of action clearly available to her!

But, as always, the Devil is in the details.....

[fatlazyless]

Say everyone, let's all have a big round of applause and a big thank you to Skip for that very informative post!

Hey.....maybe I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree! As usual, I have nothing that's intelligent to say, but at least I am consistent!

Now, if someone could snap a couple-three photos of that ghoulish array of front yard horror manniquins and the large info sign that lists all the carcinogens emitted from a crematorium smokestack and post the photos here, it would be appreciated!

[Argie's Wife]

Skip & Jmen - thanks for the posts - that clarifies it a lot...

The complainant has, since May, not availed herself of her legal right to appeal to the Meredith ZBA but has chosen to protest the crematorium by attempting to harass innocent customers using the business for a legal purpose.

Now, where did I leave off on my "shame on her!" comments....?

Maybe she and the rooster complaintant we discussed in an earlier thread could buy an island together?

[P-3 Guy]

Originally Posted by Skip

Great answers jmen.

Unfortunately the facts in this issue got skewed when, for whatever reason, FLL posted misinformation about the ZBA's alleged involvement.

A couple of things to point out. The Funeral Home is not located in a residential neighborhood, but is in a commercial zone where the business is and was an allowable use under Meredith's zoning regulations. The complainant's home is in an abutting residential zone, but if you GoogeMap the area you will see its an area wedged between to heavy use roadways (Route 3 and Route 104) which explains why the funeral home is in a commercial zone.

As the story explains, the owner of the business has secured all the required permits for the installation of the crematorium. Additionally the Meredith Code Enforcement officer reviewed the instllation and had ruled that under Meredith's zoning laws, a crematorium is an allowable use for a funeral home. Being ruled a ancillary function, the business owner was not required to appear before the Planning board nor seek a variance from the ZBA. FLL's assertion that the ZBA allowed this is false.

Now, does the complainant have an avenue of appeal available to her? Yes, under State law and clearly cited in Meredith's zoning ordinance, she clearly had the right to appeal the Code Enforcement Officer's ruling to the ZBA. The ZBA then would be required to have a public hearing and make a determination on the matter. If she was unhappy with that decision and a subsequent rehearing then she has the right to appeal to the Belknap Superior Court for a final ruling.

Likewise the business owner, if ruled against by the ZBA, could also appeal the decision to the Superior Court.

To sum it up the business owner has followed applicable State law and secured the necessary permits, and has obtained a decision from the Meredith Code Enforcement Officer that under Meredith's current zoning regulations the addition of the crematorium is an allowed ancillary use requiring no appearance before the Planning Board.

The complainant has, since May, not availed herself of her legal right to appeal to the Meredith ZBA but has chosen to protest the crematorium by attempting to harass innocent customers using the business for a legal purpose.

Only the complainant can answer as to why she has chosen not to follow the appropriate course of action clearly available to her!

But, as always, the Devil is in the details.....

Skip, your post is very informative and spot-on. I do, however, have one small quibble. The "administrative decision" that Meredith CEO Bill Edney made was more than likely not openly publicized or distributed. In other words, the first indication that the complaining neighbor had that a crematorium would be added to the funeral home was probably when said crematorium was under construction. It's not like she was informed of what was going on from the get-go.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by TMI Guy

Skip, your post is very informative and spot-on. I do, however, have one small quibble. The "administrative decision" that Meredith CEO Bill Edney made was more than likely not openly publicized or distributed. In other words, the first indication that the complaining neighbor had that a crematorium would be added to the funeral home was probably when said crematorium was under construction. It's not like she was informed of what was going on from the get-go.

Do they really call him the CEO?

[fatlazyless]

Slightly off topic, but that never stopped me before. The LaDaSun had an article a couple days ago talking about the costs incurred by the City of Laconia for residents who die with no burial plans and no money. The article said Laconia used the www.WilkinsonBeane.com Funeral Home in Laconia and that it charged $750 for the most basic cremation. That sounds pretty high for what the cremation actually does. Will try to find a working link to the LaDaSun article from this past week, maybe last Wednesday or Thursday.

How much for the Meredith www.MayhewFuneralhomes.com least expensive cremation?

If only www.WalMart.com in Gilford or Plymouth or Tilton or Littleton or Woodsville or Conway or Gorham would get into the cremation biz!

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Slightly off topic, but that never stopped me before. The LaDaSun had an article a couple days ago talking about the costs incurred by the City of Laconia for residents who die with no burial plans and no money. The article said Laconia used the www.WilkinsonBeane.com Funeral Home in Laconia and that it charged $750 for the most basic cremation. That sounds pretty high for what the cremation actually does. Will try to find a working link to the LaDaSun article from this past week, maybe last Wednesday or Thursday.

How much for the Meredith www.MayhewFuneralhomes.com least expensive cremation?

If only www.WalMart.com in Gilford or Plymouth or Tilton or Littleton or Woodsville or Conway or Gorham would get into the cremation biz!

[P-3 Guy]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

Do they really call him the CEO?

I doubt it; that's just my abbreviation for Code Enforcement Officer.

[fatlazyless]

Is there any difference between a code enforcement officer and a building inspector or is it just a case of semantics for defining the same job description?

"Hey, the salary stinks, but the pay is great!" That's what at least one Boston building inspector used to say, back about 1978.

[Averial]

The funeral that this gentleman is talking about was located at Mayhew Funeral Home here in Meredith N.H. Since Mayhew installed his crematorium I have had to buy and air conditioner and two cooling tower fans as I can no longer keep my windows open and use fans to cool my home during the heat. The airconditioner makes a lot of noise and subsequently I have to keep the volume turned up on my TV and stereo player in order to hear anything. these people came across the street and told me twice to turn my volume down that they could hear my audio playing. Then a woman started walking back and forth in front of my home while talking on her cell phone, and suddenly she is down on the lower end of my home with her cell phone pointed at my home and looked to me as if she were taking a picture. I have no idea who she was, so I opend my front door and called to her, are you stalking me, or are you caseing out my home to come back later and rob me. She said,"Lady you havent a thing in there that Iwould want. I closed my door, and a few minutes later I looked out to see to large men all dressed in black walking around in my front yard on my lawn. At that point, I had enough and called out to them to get off my lawn or I was going to call the police and have them arrested. This is a private home. it does not belong to Mayhew. I do not have to shut down my life and live in complete silence everytime that he has a funeral. If you choose to have a funeral at his place you need to realize that some of us are still alive and do not have to observe the living or the dead at everyone of his funerals. Also right now while I am typing this there is a pungent spicey smell throughout my house that come in my home every time that he burns a dead body. I have complained about this numerous times and no one in the Meredith Town office will listen to me, my nose burns and my throat burns and may eyes are watering, but I am being made to endure this everytime that he burns a body over there. Now does anyone else want to step up to the plate and criticise me, I dare you to. None of you would want to have to live with what this man and his pack of theives have done to my quality of life. This is abuse of the elderly. I am 71 years old.

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I do feel sorry for you. I would not want to live next to a crematorium---not now--not ever. I don't think I would ever want to be cremated after reading about what takes place. I think I'd rather be thrown in the graveyard on L. Winnipeasukee and be devoured by some fish.

[Averial]

Thankyou so much for your kind words. I just E-Mailed my friend Peg O'Conor in Laconia. No one believes me when I say that I can smell this stuff. I am getting so depressed by all of this. I woke my son who lives with me and he can smell it to. My eyes are watering, my nose and my throat burn. Mayhew burned a body yesterday and I think that at night the air is heavier and it settles in my chimney and goes throughout my house. I don't want to go out in my yard when he burns a body. I am 71 years old, a retired RN who cared for the elderly for 37 and 1/2 years and thought that upon my retireing I could work outside in the summer in my gardens and have a little enjoyment of my home. I feel like Mayhew has not only robbed me of the value of my home but also of my quality of life. to me this is abuse of the elderly. No one at the town office in Meredith will listen to me. I have contacted a lawyer that has told me that when I go to sell my home then maybe I can do something about this. In the meantime I am just supposed to put up with the smell and hopefully drop dead soon. I have heart problems and arthritis, and have to live with pain and reduced energy level. This is all wrong. Mayhew says he had to put it in because he wasn't makeing enough profit. Well thanks Mayhew, you just robbed me of my home value and my quality of life. My son who has had an accident and is not well lives with me and now when he gets up in the morning and sits on the couch and looks out the picture window he sees Mayhews huge Crematory Chimmney, he battled Cancer for a year and is now in remission. There is something terribly wrong with this picture. Neighbors should have to suffer so that Mayhew can make a profit. He owns a pontoon boat, a huge motorized home and God only knows how many other toys to play with. I have lost all respect for the man and at this point, the entire Mayhew family.

[martbri7]

The airconditioner makes a lot of noise and subsequently I have to keep the volume turned up on my TV and stereo player in order to hear anything. these people came across the street and told me twice to turn my volume down that they could hear my audio playing

She asked you to turn down the music because you had sounds of chains dragging across the ground ...and halloweenish sounds....when we first arrived...thank you for at least changing the selection of music...but your speakers were outside so I'm confused by some of your points

[Averial]

You must be confused. Do not and I say do not sent anymore of you people over here to try and rough handle me

[fatlazyless]

Winnipesaukee.com has a lot of different forum names and Averial is a new one here, so WELCOME to this forum, and it's great to hear from the opposing opinions on this hot & smelly issue!

[Jmo77011]

She asked you to turn down the music because you had sounds of chains dragging across the ground ...and halloweenish sounds....when we first arrived...thank you for at least changing the selection of music...but your speakers were outside so I'm confused by some of your points[/QUOTE]


If this is true, than it is in extremely poor taste and you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. While I sympathize with your plight, I feel that there is never a good excuse to be disrespectful at a funeral, ever. I hope that you are able to work things out through the proper channels in the future. Perhaps joining together with your fellow neighbors would be a good place to start.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by Jmo77011

She asked you to turn down the music because you had sounds of chains dragging across the ground ...and halloweenish sounds....when we first arrived...thank you for at least changing the selection of music...but your speakers were outside so I'm confused by some of your points

If this is true, than it is in extremely poor taste and you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. While I sympathize with your plight, I feel that there is never a good excuse to be disrespectful at a funeral, ever. I hope that you are able to work things out through the proper channels in the future. Perhaps joining together with your fellow neighbors would be a good place to start.[/QUOTE]

Are you certain that this poster is the same one who has the signs and outdoor speakers? It could be that this is a separate abutter to the Mayhew Funeral Home property and not the same Carolyn Pillsbury mentioned in the article from The Citizen or The Laconia Daily Sun.

[jrc]

People must be dropping like flies in Meredith, how many funerals does this place do?

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by Averial

He owns a pontoon boat, a huge motorized home and God only knows how many other toys to play with.

How does owning a boat and a motorhome and "God only knows how many other toys to play with" have any relevence to the problem you claim exhists ?

[SAMIAM]

This is getting bad....men in black sneaking around her house. And now we find out that Mayhew has a pontoon boat??? How dare he?
I have a solution.....since her son does not appear to be working, perhaps he could get a job at Mayhews since it is right across the street. They are fair people and would be willing to give an employee discount should she ever need his services.
Can't we all just get along?

[Averial]

The reason I mentioned the Pontoon Boat and Motorized Home is because Peter Mayhews excuse to me for putting in the crematorium right under his neighbor's noses was because he was not makeing enough profit. Well it sounds to me like he is makeing quite a bit of profit.He told me that he didn't feel that he had to tell me about his plans because he knew that I would not like liveing right across from dead bodies burning all the time. This place has very few funerals, but he cremates for other funeral homes north of him. He has got to pay for this thing somehow. He has always felt like he owns this street, even the day that one of his customers almost ran over my little granddaughter and when my daughter confronted him with the fact that he needed to have a little control of his customers and keep them off from my front lawn, his relply was "That's not my problem, I have no control over how my customers drive or where they park. He is a charmer

[Averial]

SAMIAM, we will never need Mayhew's services, we will go to a funeral home and director who cares about his community and how he treats his neighbors, like Wilkinson Bean Nuen Pauquett in Laconia. They are very careing people.

[sa meredith]

Let me play devil's advocate here for a second.
1st of all...we can all play "holier than thou" if we want to, but NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF THIS FORUM would be happy if this situation took place next door to them. I believe the old saying is, "Yes, but not in MY back yard".
Anyway...back to devils advocate.
Suppose it was me. Should I be respectful of a grieving family during a wake, as people enter and leave the funeral home? Well, of course.
However, if a wake happens to be scheduled on the same day I planned a major, all out, booze infested rip out, party of the summer, complete with a live outdoor band...well, too freakin' bad for them.
It has to work both ways. I would walk over and say..."hey, your wake is really bringing down the spirit of my guests. Could you move things along a bit?"
Tit for tat. No grey area here. If fact, in this case, she could say..."well I was here first, and before you chose this site for your business, you should have realized I am a very loud, obnoxious drunk. Leave if you want to".
With very little effort, I am quite sure I could get this funeral home a reputation of a place that people should simply not hire, for their arraigments. It would be known as the place with the loud guy across the street.
Why so passionate about this??? The funeral home is a fine idea, I have no problem with it. Commercially zoned land...all legal. No problem.
But adding the crematorium???? In a residential area. AWFUL! UNTHINKABLE!
I have news for you...I worked near one for many many years...say all you want...when they burn, it smells...and smells bad.
The saying at our place was..."oh, they just fired up the BBQ". You can smell it, and it sucks.
They should offer to buy this lady's home ata fair price and help her relocate.
How is her music drifting over there, any different than their smell drifting over to her place. SAME THING!

[Averial]

Oh, and one more thing sa meredith, said lady's home across the street from Mayhew is not for sale and she will never sell it to him or ReMax, who I believe are all part of this little thing with mayhew. They are all hurting for parking space, ReMax is jammed packed with cars since he expanded his business and Peter drives the whole neighbor hood nuts when ever has a funeral with any volume of traffic. They are hurting units, but they are not forcing this lady out of her home. With that said I will continue to live my life as is. There is more then one way to skin a cat, you just got to use your smarts. Winter is coming, have you got your smart meter yet. Nice couple of guys put mine on today. Come on down Northern Pass.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by Averial

Oh, and one more thing sa meredith, said lady's home across the street from Mayhew is not for sale and she will never sell it to him or ReMax, who I believe are all part of this little thing with mayhew. They are all hurting for parking space, ReMax is jammed packed with cars since he expanded his business and Peter drives the whole neighbor hood nuts when ever has a funeral with any volume of traffic. They are hurting units, but they are not forcing this lady out of her home. With that said I will continue to live my life as is. There is more then one way to skin a cat, you just got to use your smarts. Winter is coming, have you got your smart meter yet. Nice couple of guys put mine on today. Come on down Northern Pass.

If Remax constantly has a yard full of cars then it sounds like their business is doing fine and holding it's own,
If Mayhews is holding enough funerals and or cremations to drive the neighborhood nuts or gross them out with the smell then it sounds like their doing fine and holding their own.
Seems to me that your the "hurting unit" not them. Just sayin

[ITD]

Time for this thread to be jettisoned into the deep part of the Broads.....

[fatlazyless]

What this thread needs is a couple of high quality photographs of the aggrieved neighbor's front yard full of those ghoulish look'n mannequins and the big display list of crematory exhaust, carcinogenic gases and dangerous air-borne chemicals that all sounded very nasty to be inhaling. There was a lot to see there, directly across Cataldo St from the driveway entrance to Mayhew's, and directly downhill from RE Max, when I took a drive-by look-see back on August 8.

For the record, the crematory exhaust chimney seems to be located at end of the funeral home that is furthest away from said neighbor, so maybe the answer is just blowing in the wind, or conveyed by a lower barometric pressure?

How's this sound?

Red sky at night, sailors delight!
Deceased's odor in the morn, warning a storm!

As everyone knows, a good quality photograph adds a new dimension of insight and expression to a story. So many posts here, but not even one photo......51-posts and zero photographs! ......... come on.....LaDaSun....Laconia Citizen....Meredith News....do your newspapers employ any photographers?.......or maybe a volunteer from Winnipesaukee.com.....someone should post up a few mega-pixels of visual info here!

Here we go for one photograph and attached story ....... google this: "Crematory vexes neighbor but town says facility fine, citizen.com August 4"

General Disclaimer:

I neither agree or disagree with this opinionated newspaper story as written. Don't forget that every story usually has two sides to it and a highly skilled and experienced reporter like Bea Lewis is very capable of crafting a story that is either positive, negative or straight forward!

[Averial]

If all of you think that I am going to go quietly away while all of you continue to bring your over sized bodies up here to Mayhew Funeral Home and expect me to be tolerable of the odors emited by your bodies while they are being cooked right under my nose you are sadly mistaken. I would not do this to you and you have no right to do it to me. What is so sad, is that right now we have become a community and a country where the rich and powerful think that they can push people around and do anything that they want to including destroying their lives. Why didn't Mayhew put this thing right on his own property up on route 175 in Holderness NH. It is a rural area and there is plenty of space on his land. Put it in that oversized storage building that he has next to his house. Oh but no, he would rather put it right here in a busy residential area and stink every one out to say say nothing to turning this neighborhood into a chemical waste dump, and eventually contaminating the public water supply.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by Averial

If all of you think that I am going to go quietly away while all of you continue to bring your over sized bodies up here to Mayhew Funeral Home and expect me to be tolerable of the odors emited by your bodies while they are being cooked right under my nose you are sadly mistaken. I would not do this to you and you have no right to do it to me. What is so sad, is that right now we have become a community and a country where the rich and powerful think that they can push people around and do anything that they want to including destroying their lives. Why didn't Mayhew put this thing right on his own property up on route 175 in Holderness NH. It is a rural area and there is plenty of space on his land. Put it in that oversized storage building that he has next to his house. Oh but no, he would rather put it right here in a busy residential area and stink every one out to say say nothing to turning this neighborhood into a chemical waste dump, and eventually contaminating the public water supply.

Yup, call everybody on the forum fat that's a sure way to win over our hearts and minds.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by Averial

If all of you think that I am going to go quietly away while all of you continue to bring your over sized bodies up here to Mayhew Funeral Home and expect me to be tolerable of the odors emited by your bodies while they are being cooked right under my nose you are sadly mistaken. I would not do this to you and you have no right to do it to me. What is so sad, is that right now we have become a community and a country where the rich and powerful think that they can push people around and do anything that they want to including destroying their lives. Why didn't Mayhew put this thing right on his own property up on route 175 in Holderness NH. It is a rural area and there is plenty of space on his land. Put it in that oversized storage building that he has next to his house. Oh but no, he would rather put it right here in a busy residential area and stink every one out to say say nothing to turning this neighborhood into a chemical waste dump, and eventually contaminating the public water supply.

I'm sorry, what is the rationale for not selling your house. If I were in your situation and someone offered to buy me out... poof

[Averial]

Poof! your gone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fatlazyless]

Here's the 3rd, 4th, & 5th paragraphs quoted direct from the Bea Lewis, August 4, Laconia Citizen article:
.................

"She said she only learned it was being installed when she opened her living room drapes and spotted a crane installing a chimney at the funeral home.

Code Enforcement Officer Bill Edney said an administrative decision was made that the crematorium was an ancillary use of an existing business.

As such, the project did not need planning board approval and no public hearing was held which would have required abutters to be notified."
.................

(Picture this as was included in Citizen report: One newspaper photograph of angry abutter neighbor standing in front of yard fence with signs listing crematory chimney emitted, carcinogenic breathable gases.)

[lawn psycho]

My, my, my how quickly people are to throw out the constitutional rights of others. This is a litmus test of how people are willing to stomach civil rights. Not saying this is how I would handle it, but does say something about how quickly society is to abandon things when it doesn't suit their tastes.

Also, just being an approved business does not mean Carte Blanc do as you see fit. Residential and business areas next to each other have to coincide. If people are complaining of smells (odors), that is a nuisance and likely against land use regulations (ie, a citable violation). It does not need to exceed an air quality limit to be a violation either....

Growing up in farm country, this kind of protest is MILD

Averial, here is my advice:

1. Make sure at least on of your signs has a political message such as "Screwed by Town of Meredith", etc. If the Town is dumb enough to question your tactics, immediately contact the NH ACLU. The town would quickly find out they have no leg to stand on.

2. Make sure you file all complaints with the town. File an appeal with the ZBA and do it quickly as there are time limits.

3. If anyone is on your property, do not confront them and just call the police.

4. The next time during daylight hours call in when you smell what you believe to be the odor. Document, document, document. Fill out the paperwork at town hall.

5. If the Town plays silent on this, get a lawyer. If the smell is leaving that property you can seek damages.

You'll probably be labled a troublemaker, etc but stand your ground. Long live the "little guy"!!

[Jmo77011]

Originally Posted by Averial

If all of you think that I am going to go quietly away while all of you continue to bring your over sized bodies up here to Mayhew Funeral Home and expect me to be tolerable of the odors emited by your bodies while they are being cooked right under my nose you are sadly mistaken. I would not do this to you and you have no right to do it to me. What is so sad, is that right now we have become a community and a country where the rich and powerful think that they can push people around and do anything that they want to including destroying their lives. Why didn't Mayhew put this thing right on his own property up on route 175 in Holderness NH. It is a rural area and there is plenty of space on his land. Put it in that oversized storage building that he has next to his house. Oh but no, he would rather put it right here in a busy residential area and stink every one out to say say nothing to turning this neighborhood into a chemical waste dump, and eventually contaminating the public water supply.

Actually, his business is in a busy COMMERCIAL zone. As for contaminating the water supply...really? I'd love to see actual facts on that.

[SAMIAM]

Wondering if Mayhews would be willing to lease it out durring down time to some of us local restaurants......I was thinking of pulled pork,ribs and brisket.
Turn it down to "low",add a little hickory...and bingo.

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by Jmo77011

Actually, his business is in a busy COMMERCIAL zone. As for contaminating the water supply...really? I'd love to see actual facts on that.

Come on buddy, picture this; you have been living in your single family home on a Meredith residential road for the last THIRTY-THREE years.....you are 71 years of age.....paying your Meredith property taxes there for the last 33-years...since 1978....and one day....a large mobile crane rolls up across the road.....and installs a propane fired, crematorium oven complete with a tall stainless steel chimney into the funeral home there.....directly across your little residential road... with no UP-FRONT NOTICE ahead of the time of the installation!

Just what the heck was Meredith Code Enforcement Officer, Bill Edney, thinking when he made his administrative decision on this item?

And how Mr. Jmo77011, would you like for that to happen to you?

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Just what the heck was Meredith Code Enforcement Officer, Bill Edney, thinking when he made his administrative decision on this item?

He was thinking that legally he had no ground to stand on to deny the request to add this feature to the funeral home.

Judging by the responses received in this thread. I am thinking the dealer is holding a few cards back. Why else would the neighbor take this tact for dealing with this issue when Skip pointed out a very viable process.

[Jmo77011]

Mayhew has been there since 1983...28 years. It's a commercially zoned area, love it or lump it. Honestly, I'd probably have some sympathy for this woman if she wasn't bothering mourners in such an outlandish and disrespectful manner. I can't imagine having to deal with that while trying to bury a loved one.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by sa meredith

Let me play devil's advocate here for a second.
1st of all...we can all play "holier than thou" if we want to, but NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF THIS FORUM would be happy if this situation took place next door to them. I believe the old saying is, "Yes, but not in MY back yard".
Anyway...back to devils advocate.
Suppose it was me. Should I be respectful of a grieving family during a wake, as people enter and leave the funeral home? Well, of course.
However, if a wake happens to be scheduled on the same day I planned a major, all out, booze infested rip out, party of the summer, complete with a live outdoor band...well, too freakin' bad for them.
It has to work both ways. I would walk over and say..."hey, your wake is really bringing down the spirit of my guests. Could you move things along a bit?"
Tit for tat. No grey area here. If fact, in this case, she could say..."well I was here first, and before you chose this site for your business, you should have realized I am a very loud, obnoxious drunk. Leave if you want to".
With very little effort, I am quite sure I could get this funeral home a reputation of a place that people should simply not hire, for their arraigments. It would be known as the place with the loud guy across the street.
Why so passionate about this??? The funeral home is a fine idea, I have no problem with it. Commercially zoned land...all legal. No problem.
But adding the crematorium???? In a residential area. AWFUL! UNTHINKABLE!
I have news for you...I worked near one for many many years...say all you want...when they burn, it smells...and smells bad.
The saying at our place was..."oh, they just fired up the BBQ". You can smell it, and it sucks.
They should offer to buy this lady's home ata fair price and help her relocate.
How is her music drifting over there, any different than their smell drifting over to her place. SAME THING!

The NIMBY thing - I already said that and talked about the ZBA's involvement in the project (See post #22). The idea about being loud and obnoxious is yours, for sure. I don't doubt that this is a nuisance in the neighborhood, but I don't agree with heckling mourners - that's hitting people with a problem that's not theirs and something they had no control (or probably no idea about) when they came to do business. But rally the neighbors, plan civil disobedience, by all means. (Key word: civil.)

[sa meredith]

Originally Posted by Jmo77011

Mayhew has been there since 1983...28 years. It's a commercially zoned area, love it or lump it. Honestly, I'd probably have some sympathy for this woman if she wasn't bothering mourners in such an outlandish and disrespectful manner. I can't imagine having to deal with that while trying to bury a loved one.

...and I can't imagine they were allowed to build a crematorium near residential homes, forcing residents to deal with that, with no public hearing before the fact.
So...she has to deal with them, why should they not have to deal with her.
As stated previously...if it were me, the funeral home would quickly gain a reputation as a place that you simply did not want to hire. My parties would be loud, and frequent.
The funeral home aspect...fine. No problem.
When they installed the furnace??? Sorry, all bets are off.
Wrong wrong wrong. Someone paved the way for this to thru with no hearing.
Do you have any idea how much the quality of a neighbors life would change.
These things smell...and smell bad.
SAMIAM...how would like to have bodies burning for your customers to smell as they entered VK.
Or maybe a garbage transfer station right next door, for the smells to waft over your way on a hot summer afternoon. It would change things...wouldn't it? I'm sure you see the point.
Very surprised at people's inability to see the other side of this issue.
She is a elerderly woman. Other than being a nuisance, she honestly has very little recourse.
But, alas, the "piling on" mentallity of this forum shines thru.

[SAMIAM]

I see the point, SA.......definitely would not want them next door......just couldn't help but make light of it because it was getting so crazy.....men in black, outside speakers, goulish sounds, chain rattling.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Wondering if Mayhews would be willing to lease it out durring down time to some of us local restaurants......I was thinking of pulled pork,ribs and brisket.
Turn it down to "low",add a little hickory...and bingo.

Put me down for a Big ole brisket, I'm Huuungrry !!

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I feel very sorry for her. I am not sure I would even think about the future of the commercial zone when I purchased a home. Yes--I should have been thinking about it, but I might not have. I do feel for her. I would be sick if I continued to smell the burning of dead bodies. For crying out loud- I live where I can't even see another house and I like it that way. I have to say living in a rural area was an important choice for me. That being said-unless you own a great deal of land around your house you may end up with neighbor's that you don't want. I bet there aren't many people who own a house that would trade their house for her's. She is in a very tough situation.

[fatlazyless]

As long as we got a thread going that concerns a funeral home, here's a link to State of New Hampshire funeral consumer information that may be helpfull to the reader sometime when they suffer the loss of a loved one. Apologize for the dancing bananas but will try anything to get your attention?

http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/sourcebook/funerals.htm

...and another helpfull New Hampshire source for your funeral information,

http://www.nh.gov/funeral/

[sa meredith]

One more thing to think about...how about this. The next time the buidling at the end of the Weirs strip becomes available (currently Weathervane), someone leases it, and opens an Adult Bookstore complete with tobacco products, and pot smoking devices....pipes, papers, water bongs...little something for everyone.
No big deal...commercially zoned. The neighboring businesses that are already there...too bad for them.
Common sense, folks...common sense.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by sa meredith

One more thing to think about...how about this. The next time the buidling at the end of the Weirs strip becomes available (currently Weathervane), someone leases it, and opens an Adult Bookstore complete with tobacco products, and pot smoking devices....pipes, papers, water bongs...little something for everyone.
No big deal...commercially zoned. The neighboring businesses that are already there...too bad for them.
Common sense, folks...common sense.

I don't know how that use would harm the neighboring businesses. Laconia may have an ordinance against it. I have no idea if the pot stuff is legal or illegal to sell in NH. If it is not, and someone can make a viable business out of it. I have seen numerous establishment such as you describe and usually they are pretty well taken care of and discrete.

[ITD]

Here's an idea, move it to China.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

I don't know how that use would harm the neighboring businesses. Laconia may have an ordinance against it. I have no idea if the pot stuff is legal or illegal to sell in NH. If it is not, and someone can make a viable business out of it. I have seen numerous establishment such as you describe and usually they are pretty well taken care of and discrete.

Whiddershans (spelling) survived on main street in Meredith for Many years. They had display cases Full of various smoking paraphernalia.

[sa meredith]

You guys took my post literally? Really? No, seriously, you thought that is what I actually meant.
Wow. Just trying to paint a picture. Although something may indeed be legal, it may not always be the best idea. It may not "fit in".
Like a large smoke stack, spewing forth the spell of burning bodies, across the street from a residential home.
It may be legal, but what an incredibly cruel/selfish/meanspirited/I only care about myself/just plain awful, thing to do.

[MarkinNH]

Originally Posted by sa meredith

You guys took my post literally? Really? No, seriously, you thought that is what I actually meant.
Wow. Just trying to paint a picture. Although something may indeed be legal, it may not always be the best idea. It may not "fit in".
Like a large smoke stack, spewing forth the spell of burning bodies, across the street from a residential home.
It may be legal, but what an incredibly cruel/selfish/meanspirited/I only care about myself/just plain awful, thing to do.

I am sure most of us have seen it but it's not really a very big chimney per say.
It looks more like a slightly modified cupola.

[Averial]

Don't worry the mean spirited, self centered, think only himself, guy with the smoke stack body burning barbeque pit is on my radar. You do not mess with mother nature. Pay back may take years, but it will be a bitch.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Averial]

Foul Smell:
Woke up at 11:00 p.m. to this foul smelling stench that comes into my house after Mayhew burns a body. My eyes water, my nares and my throat burn. Again I have sent E-Mail messages to the town mannager and the selectmen. here in Meredith. No body responds to my E-Mails, they ignore me. they think that I will just go away. I think not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[VitaBene]

You already got one thread closed- going for 2?

I am sure the town will respond when they get in their offices (you posted this 8 minutes after they open for business).

This is the Winnipesaukee forum, not your personal complaint department.

[fatlazyless]

Will the town respond or will the town just say "the cremation oven is an approved accessory use for an existing funeral home," and it makes no difference that it sits directly across quiet, serene, little Cataldo Rd, behind RE-Max Bayside, from a number of residential single family homes?

So what....who cares....it was an administrative decision made by the town's code enforcement officer....and it is not our problem....now that a decision was handed down....and that is that....period....the end....with no public hearing....and no public notice....until the mobile crane showed up to install the new cremation oven into the neighborhood!

And, how'd you like to be living across a little residential road from a cremation oven that just rolled into the neighborhood on one day, unannounced!

[Shreddy]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

You already got one thread closed- going for 2?

I am sure the town will respond when they get in their offices (you posted this 8 minutes after they open for business).

This is the Winnipesaukee forum, not your personal complaint department.

Why should the Noonans thread on skydiving still be going then (which I enjoy reading and am in support of)? Playing Devil's Advocate, but good for her for voicing her opinion. I hope she succeeds at bringing down his business. It's never a situation I would want to find myself in.

[Mink Islander]

So a small businessman gets the proper permits/approvals to add to his funeral home operation and because ONE person claims to be adversely impacted you hope his business fails. All I can say is WOW!

I agree with Vitabene, this issue has been throttled already. If you have a beef, (roasted or otherwise), take if up with the town and tell us what you accomplish. That might actually add some interesting content to this forum. Don't just tell us the smell still bothers you. I think everyone has full awareness about that.

But, most importantly, it feels like your sole motive posting here is to try to harm Mayhew's business. I think that's wrong and not what this forum should be about. Just my 2cents.

[fatlazyless]

http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis...s/overview.htm

This is a State of New Hampshire website that takes a serious look at the problems associated with 'open burning,' and it is worth reading and thinking how these 'open burning' laws might be applied to a cremation oven located very close to a residential neighborhood.

Here's a question I want to toss out: Is Meredith located in the State of New Hampshire? Just what state does the town code enforcement officer live in?

[Mink Islander]

You know some people mistakenly think you can kill zombies by burning them. Instead you end up with flaming brain-eaters chasing you around town.