Blizzard out on work release program
 

According to THIS article in today's Citizen, Blizzard is allowed out of jail on a daily basis to work at the Marina, and is allowed to drive to and from work.

There is also an article in the print edition of the Union Leader in reference to same.

"Formula Boats: Not just a boat, it's a life style!"

For what it's worth, that's what the marquee sign at Lakeport Landing has been saying, or something to that effect, lately. Cannot recall the exact wording. Oh well...whatcha gonna do....as the saying goes....money talks &....!

Today's July 13 www.cmonitor.com also has an article along with a number of email comments from readers.

I thought she lost her license for reckeless driving on 1-93?

Not yet..her attorney has "gone fishing" :rolleye2:

July 27th trial date
 

Her trial on those charges is scheduled for July 27th.

A short article on the situation has been posted HERE at the Union Leader on-line website.

Given that she will be driving herself back to jail each evening after a hard day at the marina, I wonder if she will have to take a breathalyzer test upon arrival? Let us hope so.

I don't see any point to starting in on her again.She has complied with the courts orders.....why not just leave her alone?

Although I agree to some degree with you.... there is another side to this....



THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH SOCIETY TODAY


To often the punishment doesn't fit the crime.... because of prison over population, elitest rules of society, etc. etc. etc. Crimes that are not felt as severe as others are not punished harshly enough. There should be no ankle bracelets, no house arrest, now work release.... time in jail is just that time in jail, time in a cold dark cell with a stainless steal sink, a solid cement bed. All of this with one purpose to make you think. Think about what you did, why you did it, and why you don't want to do it again. There shouldn't be T.V.s, weight rooms, basket ball courts, and pick nick yards... If they want these criminals busy, have fields, to plow by hand, hand plant gardens and harvest them... in the winter remove the snow for no other reason, then to move it again.

The problem is Hard time isn't hard enough.... Hire a Drill Sgt. to come in and put the inmates through PT every morning... Make Prision Harsh... that they way it should be, that the way it works... that they way it was meant to be.

excuse me I will get off my soap box now.... Hopefully when Ms Blizzard pulls her next act of stupidity, it will only effect herself.... As for me, I will not do business with Lake Port Landing any more.... Her Family has shown that they wish to be above the law and use every loop hole to their advantage.

Madoff (sic) got 150 years for robbing the rich.

IMO she hasn't earned the right to be left alone, what a joke.

This is an OUTRAGE!
 

I personally have made the decision to boycott Lakeport Landing...this from a Formula owner.

While I agree that this is ridiculous that she has a work release and can drive, people should be questioning and mad at the courts and the appeal boards for allowing this, I would not blame the person for asking if they can get it,

The people in question and you should be pissed off at, at this point cause the first judge and court put her in jail, is the people that allowed her to get the work release and they are the only ones to blame

It seems to be typical of the courts to protect the criminals.

I'm not sure you can blame the courts. I think the lawyers make everything so confusing that nobody is confident enough to make a decision that their heart and brain tells them is correct.

How about being mad at Blizzard for not complying with the courts order to pay the funeral expenses of her deceased friend? Can I be PO at her for that?

Interesting arguments both, and I agree to some degree with both positions, but personally I’m just kinda tired of reading about this.

I don’t know her, and the event has been dealt with by the courts. If people don’t like the outcome then raise your voice to the law makers and the courts.

If people have a personal issue with Ms. Blizzard, or her families business, then you should probably take it up with them. She is not some public figure, she is just a citizen with all the flaws our society allows.

I think the level of coverage she has had here and in the media is far higher than anyone of us would have gotten.

That said, I am also a strong believer in the punishment fitting the crime and jail being more than a time out, but these are not personalized matters and have nothing to do with Ms. Blizzard or the event she was involved in, they are matters for the law makers, the courts, and the managers of the penal systems. And we need to hold these folks accountable for their failures, not the person who followed their rules.

Random venting on something like this is fair game and I am not in any way attempting to suppress that, but I think the board has expended more then enough space allowing people to do so,,,

If people want meaningful reform that would result in a different outcome, try focusing the energy you are expending on this venting to voicing your concerns and preferences to those who can actually implement the change you desire, otherwise your just using up board space,,,

Well that’s one persons 30 second perspective,,,

You should be a lawyer.

If you are correct,,, Then sure, but wouldn't it be more effective to be P.O'd at the people who let her get away with it?

Just a different way of looking at the same issue,,,

That wasn't meant to be a compliment.

"I don’t know her, and the event has been dealt with by the courts". XCR700

"the event" is not how I would describe the death of a productive, young woman. You write about "the event" as if describing a trivial accident.

If Blizzard is out on work release maybe she should be required to do something productive and take Rosie out for a boat ride.

"are you talking ta me,,," LOL

But seriously are you? If so, no chance, I'm married to one and that tough enough,,,

Oh sorry,,, What I meant say was no chance, I'm not nearly skilled or smart enough,,,

Just a knuckle draggin mechanic turned IT guy,,, LOL

LOL... I was just referencing your post..LOL.

Hummm, not looking to spark this up,,,

It was a tragic event.

That said, tragic events like this happen every day. Its a sad and unfortunate fact of life.

There are all kinds of ways to look at what happened, but none will change the loss of life.

So what do you want to do about it??? If its vent endlessly, ok, but NOTHING will come from it. If anything I think it causes a net loss in the number of people who might actually respond in a productive way.

If you want change, you have to stand up and lead by example or lead the charge.

Venting feels good, but does little to bring about change.

Again not looking to stir the pot, just stating that I have read enough about this. And now I have said enough about this,,, :(

Are any comments about lawyers ever compliments :confused:

That is until you need one :D

I guess you didn't say enough about it.

"are you talking ta me"

Forums are GREAT things, and as long as we can all play nice, its all good! :)

Many comments on the Blizzard case.
 

Hummm, looks like I've said too much,,, :(

The nice part of a forum like this is If I dont like reading about something, I can look elsewhere. :eek:

And then I can get into even more trouble there! :D :D :D

Carry on,,,

Does not excuse the courts from common sense, no matter what arguements the lawyers put up

agreed, was not saying not to be mad at her, I agree, but at the same time if she did not comply they should not let her out plain and simple until she complies, like I said you have to hold the courts accountable as well for holding people to their decisions

Wow, and we could have left it at SAMIAM's post. There must be alot of unsatisfied judge(ment)s out there. Who cares about E.B.? I don't anymore. The courts will do what they do. We all just gotta do better than what we see around us. YEAH!, 6 more weeks of summer! Go for it!:laugh:

I haven't posted on this too much, because it all been said before. But I think the sad part is that she gets to work in a Marina. Hellllllooooooooo.....She should have nothing to do with boats ever again. Then she gets a DWI and is allowed to drive no less. FROM A JAIL TO A MARINA! That Judge has to be the STUPIDEST Judge alive. It is as if I shot someone and killed them, accidentally of course, but I got out on a work release to go work in a gun store. Duh! If I were that victims family I would be just so slightly PO'd. But I guess money talks......:rolleye2:

This has all been said before?
 

Wow,that's quite a statement.Ted Kennedy should not have had anything to do with cars again I guess.

I didn't know she was convicted of a DWI.

That's great. It will shorten the wait at the gas dock for the rest of us.

There are three letters to the editor in today's Laconia Citizen regarding her work release.

Letters to the Editor
 

THIS is a link to those letters.

The work release is a normal result of the sentence, which is a normal result of the crimes she was convicted of. Any blame, goes back to the procecutor not getting a conviction on the drinking. I'm not going to get into the trial again, but her punishment is related to her conviction, not her actions.

This will be a real test for her. If she has a drinking problem, she will slip and the prison will catch her drinking. If she doesn't respect the judges and MP rulings, she will operate a boat and get caught, the temptation is always in her face. If she drives her SUV recklessly, she will get caught, you know everyone is watching. This is her test.

The problem is that I don't want anyone to get involved in her recklessness. If I knew that every drunk operator was alone and only hit islands or trees and killed themselves, that would be OK by me. Unfortunately, we know that is not the case- it is usually the drunk who survives.

I have two questions.

1. Can she drive a boat while she is working?

2. How do you feel about putting your family in the water, if she is out there?

She wasn't convicted of drinking, so she really can't be punished for it. I wish every drunk driver was off the road and the water, unfortunately it isn't possible.

I thought she was effectively banned from boating in NH for some time. Although there was talk of some loophole. I don't know if she is legally operating a boat as part of her job.

My only point, if she learned her lesson we will never hear about her again. If not, she should get caught. Maybe wishfull thinking.

I'm sure many would be outraged if they "knew" some of the people that were out on work release, but they don't. It's quite obvious why so many are outraged, the charges, followed by one conviction, followed by the storied highway stop. Some are outraged because they feel a serious case of class preference is showing. Some are outraged because of who she is. Whatever.

I haven't seen a story showing exactly why the jury didn't convict her of other crimes. I "assume" it's because the prosecution team didn't present a convincing argument. I wasn't convinced by the defense's arguments, but that's just my opinion. I put the blame on them, since I can't read the minds of the jury, but the judge's statements were pretty explicit. Whatever.

My only bad feeling in this case came from one particular photo. That's when the verdict had been rendered, and Erica and her friend were smiling as they left the courtroom. My opinion, of course. I read Erica's enormous smile as a "beat the system" devious sort of smile. I understood it when I saw it, because she did "win", if a winner can actually be declared in this mess. I would say the bar(s) that served her won as well, as they did in the other tragic boating accident.

Those that are personally involved in this matter have every right to whatever feelings they have. Those on the periphery of this matter, just looking in, only get to see the system in action, not much else. The families involved are changed forever, especially the family with a missing loved one.

Maybe the letters of outrage will change their minds on the release. I doubt it, but maybe. I've seen little reference to increased enforcement on the lake, on-water training for boaters, nor outrage over the MP budget. Hardly a mention was made either of failure to convict on a single other charge. I think that was fair game, and patently obvious.

Many people learned a lot from the accident itself, which is a good thing. Fear of tragedies like this are a good reminder, and a good deterrent. They still happen every year around the country, and always will. But at least this year there are good groups of people working on safety issues, with good intentions and open minds. This is as it should be. Good deeds and good intentions can be contagious. Rarely does anything positive come of malice, nor an us versus them grudge match.

In that light, Scott and many others have come away from this past year and this case with positive attitudes, working with the Power Squadron to assist boaters. These people volunteer their time to help people, and promote safety on the lake. I would suggest all those people with a bit of outrage and anger left, instead devote those energies to promoting good will and safety on the lake. Instead of focusing on the accident, or the legal system, instead use the accident as a reminder of why safety counts, and how these things could happen to anyone. (and they do).

Just as the NEWBIE thread was a great example of this comradere, many other threads on boating and safety could benefit far more. WBB offered up a thread on personalized on-water boating instruction, an Excellent idea. I just think it's time to divert energy towards positive results, since they're the only ones that could possibly elicit good outcomes.

I have no problem putting my family in the water if she is out there. I would gladly put myself, and my children in a boat with her anytime, without hesitation.

ANYTIME??? You'd let your kids out on a boat with her at 1 AM? Maybe if the whole Lakeport Landing marina thing doesn't work out for her you can hire her as a nanny (especially where NH is now a "Nanny State").

As to question 1: no I don't believe she can I do believe she lost her privilege to operate a boat for a specified period of time... I might be wrong so someone please correct me if I am.... This would include both personal and working reasons. Just like loosing your drivers license

As to question 2: I would put my family on the water, or hell even on a boat with her... I may be outraged that I don't think her punishment is harsh enough or not carried out correctly but that is not totally her fault, and doesn't really have anything to do with whether or not she knows how to operate a boat. I may also chose not to do business with LakePort landing either but once again that has nothing to do with whether or not Erica can operate and handle a boat. I just feel that she and her immediate family have chosen to live above the law, and I will not support people like that. She should have served six months in Jail, period... the only reason she is being allowed to work is that the prison is conveniently close, and someone pulled some strings.

In short would I smell Erica's breath and look for signs of Alcohol before boarding a Vessel she was in charge of, Yes probably, and if I didn't smell any and didn't see any, it would be no different then getting on anyone elses boat for the first time.

She made a bad choice, and a tragedy happened. We may or may not agree with how she is being punished. We all probably have different views on what she is guilty of. But the bottom line is this, It is what it is... and it is over.....

Erica Grew up on the lake and has been around boats for Many years, She has the skills to handle a boat safely, and will probably do so even more so once she is able to operate on legally again.

Remember what is being argued here, this isn't about attacking Erica, this is weather the punishment fits the crime. It isn't about weather Erica can safely handle a boat, it about whether the punishment fits the crime.....

Don't cloud issues with feelings, it makes thing hard to discuss..

Interesting answers.

By the way, question #2 was not intended to question her operational skills.

On May 14th...
 

(Somebody said...:rolleye1:)

It is over, some just cannot let it go.