{"id":453,"date":"2020-02-12T00:09:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T00:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2020-02-12T00:09:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T00:09:51","slug":"nra-infiltrates-norwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/","title":{"rendered":"NRA infiltrates Norwich?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank is hosting in April a school safety program and some residents are concerned. Why? The National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsors the four-day program. Though I’m no fan of the NRA’s lobbying efforts, I do trust that Chief Frank would only host worthwhile programs that are not political.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three residents raise the issue in an email that is part of Selectboard correspondence. See the packet for the February 12 Selectboard meeting<\/a>, beginning at page 7. The email does not object to the substance of the program per se<\/em>. Rather, being Vermont-nice, it first line asks: “How are decisions made for use of the meeting room in our Public Safety Building?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we all share total commitment to the safety of our schools and children, we asked Chief Frank if she had discussed her choice of trainers with town leadership. We are concerned that the NRA – well known as a major lobbyist on behalf of the US gun industry – will be controversial in Norwich. She declined to reply about whether she shared her plans. <\/p>

We learned that the Select Board and the School Board members did not know of this training. We learned that principal Sean Gonyaw was aware of it, but we wonder whether permission has been granted for the participants to enter our schools, particularly during school hours.<\/p>

If there were a series of steps in getting permission to use the room, we believe someone would have cautioned Chief Frank and perhaps re-directed her to better programming on this topic. <\/p>email dated February 05, 2020.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It strikes me that the issue is not about “getting permission to use the room”. I don\u2019t think the Selectboard wants to add room scheduling to its agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is troubling that the Police Chief “declined to reply.” Also troubling is that the Marion Cross School principal didn’t know MCS was going to be used for the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the main objection seems to be that the NRA is involved. The content is not specifically criticized, although the email lists some examples of what it says is “better programming.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council website<\/a> [scroll to NRA School Shield Security Assessor Training] contains a course description of the Norwich program. It says, in part:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The training will be conducted by certified NRA instructors who are current\/former Law Enforcement Officers. The training is conducted in both a classroom and in the field at a local school campus and will focus on learning to detect threat potential and security weaknesses both day and night on and around a school campus. <\/p>

…<\/p>

Training topics include: \u2022 THE ROLE OF THE ASSESSOR \u2022 TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS \u2022 DEFINING POTENTIAL THREATS \u2022 THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS \u2022 CONDUCTING THE ASSESSMENT \u2022 PHYSICAL SECURITY COMPONENTS \u2022 SECURITY PERSONNEL AND SROS \u2022 EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOLS \u2022 INCIDENT MANAGEMENT \u2022 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES \u2022 PRE\/POST SCHOOL ASSESSMENT DIALOGUE\/REVIEW<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank is hosting in April a school safety program and some residents are concerned. Why? The National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsors the four-day program. Though I’m no fan of the NRA’s lobbying efforts, I do trust that Chief Frank would only host worthwhile programs that are not political. Three residents raise the issue in an email that is part of Selectboard correspondence. See the packet for the February 12 Selectboard meeting, beginning at page 7. The Continue reading NRA infiltrates Norwich?<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-police-and-fire"],"yoast_head":"\nNRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank is hosting in April a school safety program and some residents are concerned. Why? The National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsors the four-day program. Though I’m no fan of the NRA’s lobbying efforts, I do trust that Chief Frank would only host worthwhile programs that are not political. Three residents raise the issue in an email that is part of Selectboard correspondence. See the packet for the February 12 Selectboard meeting, beginning at page 7. The Continue reading NRA infiltrates Norwich?→\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Norwich Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"848\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"477\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CTK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CTK\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"CTK\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d\"},\"headline\":\"NRA infiltrates Norwich?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":476,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/school-shield.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Police and Fire\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/\",\"name\":\"NRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/school-shield.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/school-shield.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/school-shield.jpg\",\"width\":848,\"height\":477},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/12\\\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NRA infiltrates Norwich?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Norwich Observer\",\"description\":\"Occasional news and commentary about local government in Norwich, VT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d\",\"name\":\"CTK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310\",\"caption\":\"CTK\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/norwichobserver.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ctk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer","og_description":"Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank is hosting in April a school safety program and some residents are concerned. Why? The National Rifle Association (NRA) sponsors the four-day program. Though I’m no fan of the NRA’s lobbying efforts, I do trust that Chief Frank would only host worthwhile programs that are not political. Three residents raise the issue in an email that is part of Selectboard correspondence. See the packet for the February 12 Selectboard meeting, beginning at page 7. The Continue reading NRA infiltrates Norwich?→","og_url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/","og_site_name":"Norwich Observer","article_published_time":"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":848,"height":477,"url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"CTK","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CTK","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/"},"author":{"name":"CTK","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d"},"headline":"NRA infiltrates Norwich?","datePublished":"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/"},"wordCount":476,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg","articleSection":["Police and Fire"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/","url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/","name":"NRA infiltrates Norwich? - Norwich Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg","datePublished":"2020-02-12T00:09:48+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-12T00:09:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/school-shield.jpg","width":848,"height":477},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/12\/nra-infiltrates-norwich\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NRA infiltrates Norwich?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/","name":"Norwich Observer","description":"Occasional news and commentary about local government in Norwich, VT","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7c777bca932c48863421eb322d49c18d","name":"CTK","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310","url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310","contentUrl":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/11840c9a170ac22dbf5bc0397622f4e4.jpg?ver=1775522310","caption":"CTK"},"url":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/author\/ctk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/norwichobserver.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}