[Content notes: politics, capital punishment. I started this a while ago so it is not a commentary on any specific recent events. It’s more of an ongoing mood.]
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Wednesday, October 1
NEWS
BALLOT QUESTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR UPCOMING TOWN ELECTION
Marbury’s town election will be taking place this November 11th, and Marbury residents will be voting on a number of local matters, from streetlights to swingsets. A brief summary has been provided by the town council:
Question 1: Shall the town council allocate the sum of $8,000 to install streetlights at the intersection of Dudley Way and Chestnut Street?
Question 2: Shall Lot 329, located at 93 Maple Street, be re-zoned to allow for the construction of a pickleball court?
Question 3: Shall Shelly Kellberg, of 184 Hudson Street #2, be cut with a knife until she is dead?
Question 4: Shall the town council allocate the sum of $23,000 to Marbury Regional K-12 School for repair and improvement of the playground equipment?
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Thursday, October 2
NEWS
MARBURY RESIDENT ARRESTED FOR ELECTION INTERFERENCE
Longtime Marburian Shelly Kellberg was arrested at her home on Hudson Street last night after Marbury Police received a tip that she was plotting a scheme to interfere with the upcoming town election. According to Chief of Police Michael Edson, a neighbor saw Kellberg carrying luggage out to her car, and suspected that she did not intend to honor the result of the vote.
“Ms. Kellberg surrendered after a brief foot chase, and is being held in the station lockup,” Chief Edson told the Bulletin. “She has confessed to our officers that she was attempting to leave Marbury in order to subvert the will of the voters on Question 3. We take this kind of threat to the democratic process very seriously.”
Charges of election interference and resisting arrest have been filed, and, the town has obtained a court order to hold Kellberg without bail until the election results have been tallied and certified.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Monday, October 6
OPINION
POINT-COUNTERPOINT: QUESTION 3
IN FAVOR: Linda Sweeney, Mayor
In my capacity as mayor, I am obligated to carry out the will of the people, and of course I will abide by whatever they decide this November. But as a citizen of Marbury myself, I support this measure as an unpleasant but necessary action.
Ms. Kellberg has been a neighbor to us for many years, and I will be as sorry as anyone to lose her. Her service as a nurse at Marbury Valley Healthcare has been greatly appreciated, and I have no doubt she will be missed by her colleagues and patients there. However, difficult times require sacrifices from all of us. Opposing this measure would be a decision motivated by emotion and sentimentality, and as rational people we must look at the matter with clear eyes.
As President John F. Kennedy once reminded us, we do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Losing Ms. Kellberg will be hard, but enduring this hardship is a test of character, and I have full confidence in the character of the people of Marbury.
AGAINST: Jason Ramirez, Ramirez Law Partners
I want to start by saying that I fully condemn Ms. Kellberg’s attempt to interfere with the election. This editorial is in no way an expression of support for that action. No matter which way the people choose in November, Ms. Kellberg must respect the outcome, as must we all.
However, I will be voting no on Question 3. Ms. Kellberg has neither been accused of a capital crime nor has she received a trial. According to US federal law under 18 USC 228, and New Hampshire state law under Section 630:1, there is no legal provision to execute her under these circumstances. Making an exception to the law for a single citizen is an unusual situation and could lead to significant legal challenges for the town.
Additionally, as a Christian I wish to remind you of Exodus 20:13, in which God commands us not to kill, and Luke 6:37, in which Jesus bids us not to condemn but to forgive each other. Even more than my interpretation of the law, my faith requires me to oppose this measure. In my opinion, it would be both legally and morally improper to vote for Shelly Kellberg to be put to death.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Thursday, October 9
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A BARBARIC PROPOSITION
Question 3 is shaping up to be the hot topic of the upcoming election, and opinions are already becoming passionate on both sides. However, I want to offer a third opinion – while Shelly Kellberg’s death may be necessary, the use of a knife is outdated and cruel. There is no reason she could not be afforded a humane, clean death via lethal injection.
I am voting yes on Question 3, but with reservations. I feel that the process of execution by knife will be traumatic for the police officers chosen to carry it out, as well as for the witnesses. The blood will create a biohazard and require a time-consuming and expensive cleanup, and there is the potential for a botched execution. No one wants a scenario where Ms. Kellberg survives the cutting and lingers on for hours or days.
Should the question pass, I urge the Marbury Police Department to administer the execution by means proven to be reliable, compassionate, and safe – and in my view, only lethal injection meets those criteria.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Friday, October 10
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
NO ANGEL: THE TRUTH ABOUT SHELLY KELLBERG
Supporters of divisive political figure Shelly Kellberg have portrayed her as an innocent martyr, a woman who has never done anything wrong. The truth, however, is more complicated.
The Bulletin has unearthed a pattern of troubling behavior, which we believe voters deserve to be informed about. This behavior began in Kellberg’s youth, and seems to have been a lifelong pattern.
At age 15, Kellberg was charged with vandalism of a local business in her hometown of Tewksbury, Massachusetts. While the record is sealed due to her status as a juvenile at the time, we do know that she was found guilty and sentenced to community service. We were unable to ascertain the content of the vandalism; it may have been a gang-related “tagging” or it may have been intended to harass the owner of the business, who was a member of a religious minority group.
This was only the beginning of Kellberg’s history of controversy, legal troubles, and bad behavior. After moving to Marbury at age 22, she racked up an impressive string of traffic and parking violations – fifteen different offenses in total. Many were paid late and in some cases required a police summons before Kellberg would agree to pay her fines.
Kellberg’s first violent felony charge came next – at age 25, she was accused of striking another woman in the face during a drunken dispute over Kellberg allegedly making advances on the other woman’s boyfriend. Charges were ultimately dropped, but Kellberg wasn’t finished.
As recently as last year, her Facebook profile contained numerous obscene and offensive comments such as telling a friend “s*ck my d*ck, b*tch” and referring to the Marbury Police Department as “Nazis” and “oinkers.” In another post which we have chosen not to reproduce, Kellberg used particularly foul language to describe a patient she had cared for, while sharing private details of that patient’s medical problems.
The Bulletin does not make electoral endorsements, but we felt it was important that voters be informed of these facts.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Tuesday, October 14
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
MARBURY SCHOOLCHILDREN SEND CARDS TO SHELLY KELLBERG
Is it Christmas already? You might think so, seeing the giant sack of cards delivered to Shelly Kellberg in her cell at the Marbury Police Department headquarters! Fifth-grade students at Marbury Regional K-12 School banded together to make handmade cards for Ms. Kellberg. The cards carry messages of support and sympathy, and drawings by the young artists.
Lacey Edson, age 9, drew a picture of her pet beagle Boomer for Ms. Kellberg, saying “Hang in there, Shelly!” She explained to the Bulletin that no matter what someone’s done, everyone deserves a little smile in their day. Well, you certainly made us smile, Lacey!
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Thursday, October 16
NEWS
SCHOOLTEACHER APOLOGIZES FOR CONTROVERSIAL CLASS PROJECT
Anna Ramirez, fifth-grade teacher at Marbury Regional K-12 School, has apologized to parents and the school board for a class activity in which students were encouraged to make cards for inmate Shelly Kellberg. Numerous parents complained, stating the project was “divisive,” and “political indoctrination.”
“I apologize for my lapse in judgement,” Ramirez’s letter reads in part, “and in future will ensure all class projects are age-appropriate and focused on learning fundamentals.”
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Wednesday, October 22
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DEMOCRACY?
In this country, the government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We cast tyranny aside in 1776 and we refuse to tolerate lawlessness.
Why, then, are we tolerating the actions of Shelly Kellberg and her supporters?
If you want to campaign for No, then go ahead, knock yourself out. The woman’s a known criminal but you have your First Amendment rights. But if you want to campaign against the vote itself, if you want to suppress one side of the debate, if you want to enable Shelly to run away and escape the judgement of the people, you are an enemy of democracy and should be treated accordingly.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Monday, October 27
COLUMN
MY HUSBAND WANTS SHELLY DEAD. I DON’T. WE PUT OUR DIFFERENCES ASIDE.
Marriage is about compromise. That’s true for the little things and the big ones. Two people are never going to agree on everything, and why would you want to? The happiest spouses are the ones who love each other for their differences, not despite them.
Nonetheless, I was a little uncomfortable when my husband Luke told me he was voting yes on Question 3. I mean, isn’t that… killing a person? I thought we all agreed it was bad to kill people! Even if Shelly isn’t perfect – or, okay, really really isn’t perfect – I just don’t think she deserves to die. And I didn’t understand how Luke could think she does.
But we’ve been through so much together; I know that he’s a caring person and wouldn’t make this decision lightly. So we talked about it, and he explained to me that he values my opinion and would never insist I change my mind, and he expects the same from me. That’s something we could agree on.
Because at the end of the day, what matters most to us is each other. Our love is stronger than politics, and we won’t be torn apart by a disagreement on something that doesn’t even affect our lives. You don’t need your partner to think exactly the same way you do – imagine how boring life would be! We all have a lot to learn from each other, and what I learned from Luke that evening is that respecting our different viewpoints is a way we show our love.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Thursday, October 30
NEWS
KELLBERG PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT
In a demonstration held outside the Marbury Police Department yesterday, a small group of protesters demanded the release of Shelly Kellberg. The protest was initially peaceful, with the mostly youthful participants chanting “let her go” and holding signs with Kellberg pictured holding a kitten.
However, when one protestor began vandalizing town property, police attempted to disperse the protest, and the group refused to comply. The officers were forced to use pepper spray and Tasers to restore order; three people were arrested, and two more received misdemeanor citations. One police officer was injured by a protestor who kicked him while resisting arrest.
“This kind of behavior is unacceptable in a democracy,” Chief of Police Michael Edson said in a statement to the Bulletin. “Citizens have the right to express their opinions, but resorting to destruction and violence crosses the line. If Shelly supporters want to win people over to their side, they need to participate in civil discourse, not mob tactics.”
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Monday, November 3
GUEST COLUMN
SHELLY KELLBERG IS MY FRIEND. AND SHE’S A GOOD PERSON.
I’ve known Shelly since she moved to Marbury, almost 40 years ago. We were coworkers at Marbury Valley Healthcare, and after I retired we’ve kept in touch. She’s a quiet woman, and many have said she’s hard to get to know, but I’ve never heard anyone say the things about her that I’ve heard since Question 3 was announced. Frankly, I’m appalled.
It’s true that Shelly got into trouble a few times in her youth, and she still has a bit of a sharp tongue now and then. She’d be the first to admit it. But I wish you all could see the other side of Shelly, the side that I’ve seen.
I’ve seen her put everything aside to be there for a patients’ family after they received bad news. She didn’t pawn them off with platitudes, she held their hands and cried with them as they prayed for their father. I’ve seen her at the end of a 16-hour shift, exhausted and frazzled, still fiercely advocating for her patients – she wouldn’t rest until she knew they were getting the care they deserved. And she believed everyone deserved her best.
I’m sure you’ve seen the picture of Shelly with the kitten, but do you know the full story behind it? She found that kitten in a pile of garbage, skinny and covered in fleas, and she took him in. She fed him and cleaned him and took him to the vet and named him Garbanzo Bean. He wasn’t friendly when she found him. He was feral, he clawed and bit her. She never got angry at him; she’d tell me “he needs to learn people can be trusted,” and sure enough she earned his trust. She poured so much love into this little guy and now you’d think he’d been a pampered pet his whole life.
He’s my Bean right now, but he misses his mommy, and I hope he can reunite with her soon.
How you vote is your business. But please know this: Shelly Kellberg is a kind and patient woman, and though she would never brag about it, she has done so much good in this town.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Friday, November 7
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
MARBURY LIBRARY HOSTS DEBATE ON QUESTION 3
Thursday night at the Marbury Public Library, a standing-room crowd showed up for a debate on the hotly contested Ballot Question 3. Police were present in case the event became unruly, but weren’t needed; at one point a verbal argument broke out between spectators, but those around them de-escalated and the two parties separated peacefully.
The Yes side was represented by Marbury’s state representative, Yvonne Calley, who spent much of her allotted time discussing the controversy itself and the town’s decision process. “You can tell a lot about a policy by who supports it,” Representative Calley said, “And I see some of the best citizens of Marbury standing up for Question 3. Throughout this contentious time they’ve remained civil and respectful, and that counts for a lot with me. I just wish I could say the same for the other side.”
Addressing the proposed policy directly, Rep. Calley went on to explain, “Government is full of hard choices, and when you live in a democracy, you take some of that responsibility onto yourself. And there’s no choice harder than taking a human life. I am so proud of all of my constituents here who aren’t afraid to face up to that hard choice.”
The No side was represented by local 12th-grader Logan Branweiz, who has been active in opposing the measure on social media. In person, Branweiz seemed to struggle to find his footing in front of the crowd, but he visibly grew in confidence as he read his arguments off a series of index cards.
“I just don’t think it’s right,” Branweiz said. “It’s… uh, I don’t know why I even have to explain this. Hurting and killing people is, I don’t know, wrong. It’s, it’s not right.”
“Like, if there’s such a thing as morality,” Branweiz continued, “This isn’t it. Morality says that we are, um, supposed to take care of each other. You’re not supposed to just, like, hurt people for no reason. So we shouldn’t, we shouldn’t be voting to do that.”
A question-and-answer session was held after both sides had stated their arguments, with some of the questions from the No camp taking on a testy tone.
“No one’s explained to me exactly why anyone wants to kill Shelly in the first place,” one asker, who identified herself as a nurse from Marbury Valley Healthcare, said to Rep. Calley. “Why her? Why is this a question at all?”
“You know, this is one of those complex issues where different people have different reasons for holding the beliefs that they do,” Rep. Calley replied. “When you’re talking about, say, building a new school in a town, there’s some people who will support that because they have children of their own, and others who are thinking about how it will raise the value of their homes, and some who see it as investing in the future of the community. So I don’t want to say that anyone’s reason for supporting Question 3 is wrong or right or better than someone else’s, because it can be a very personal thing.”
There were also some pointed questions for the young Branweiz. One citizen asked, “Why are you defending a criminal?”
“She’s never, um, she’s never done anything like capital punishment bad though,” Branweiz replied. “Like, she didn’t kill anyone. And you know this all, this is all really weird, right? I don’t think anyone even, like, disliked her before this thing started.”
Another question directed at Branweiz: “Do Shelly supporters intend to respect the results of the election?”
Branweiz hesitated and appeared uncomfortable answering, but ultimately said “Well, I mean, we’d have to, wouldn’t we? I’m not suggesting anything, like, illegal. So yeah, the answer is yes.”
At the end of the event, Calley and Branweiz shook hands and thanked each other, and Rep. Calley said to Branweiz, “You’re a remarkably articulate young man, and I respect that you stand up for what you believe in. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Tuesday, November 11
LOCAL HAPPENINGS
ON ELECTION EVE, A TOWN DIVIDED
The scene in Johnson’s Diner was tense Monday night, as the residents of Marbury remain split on the contentious issue of Question 3, and, to a lesser extent, the neighborhood impacts of a pickleball court.
Question 3 is an issue that crosses party lines – conservative Yes voters view it as a matter of law and order, while the No side sees the execution as government overreach. Meanwhile, liberal Yes voters say they want to prove that liberal doesn’t mean weak, while liberal No voters call for a greater role of compassion in politics.
At Johnson’s, everyone had an opinion to share.
“I think it’s important that we show this town follows through on its commitments,” resident Laura Browder said, explaining why she planned to vote Yes.
“No one’s ever really explained why Shelly,” fellow resident Sean Collins dissented. “There’s nothing special about her. Did she p*ss off someone on the town council? Was it random? Are we going to vote on killing a different person every year? I’m voting No.”
“A pickleball court sounds nice,” said retiree Rose Garris, “but there’s no plan for parking or traffic. I don’t want cars roaring up and down my street all day long because people are going to pickleball.”
But it might have been line cook Carter Williams who summed up the mood best: “Shelly this, Shelly that, I’m so sick of hearing about it,” he said. “I don’t even care but I’m voting Yes just so I never have to hear her f*cking name again.”
The conversation swiftly moved on to football.
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Wednesday, November 12
NEWS
TOWN ELECTION RESULTS
Question 1: Shall the town council allocate the sum of $8,000 to install streetlights at the intersection of Dudley Way and Chestnut Street?
68% YES – 32% NO
Question 2: Shall Lot 329, located at 93 Maple Street, be re-zoned to allow for the construction of a pickleball court?
44% YES – 56% NO
Question 3: Shall Shelly Kellberg, of 184 Hudson Street #2, be cut with a knife until she is dead?
49% YES – 51% NO
Question 4: Shall the town council allocate the sum of $23,000 to Marbury Regional K-12 School for repair and improvement of the playground equipment?
72% YES – 28% NO
The Marbury 🦅 Daily Bulletin
Thursday, November 13
NEWS
AFTER ELECTORAL VICTORY, SHELLY KELLBERG FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Despite her narrow win in the town election, Shelly Kellberg remains incarcerated at the town jail due to pending prosecution for election interference and resisting arrest. Her bail has been denied as she is still considered a flight risk.
Meanwhile, Marbury residents, re-energized with enthusiasm for the political process, are circulating a petition to revisit “the Shelly issue” at the next town election.
“When you see voting results this close, clearly this is not a settled question,” Mayor Linda Sweeney responded to our request for comment. “Political discussion isn’t something where you can just close the door and say, okay, that’s decided forever now and no one can ever talk about it again. It’s an ongoing process. I think as long as there’s a Shelly, there will be political engagement around this issue, and you know what? That’s great. That’s an indicator of a healthy civil society.”
“In the end, the real winner of this election,” Sweeney said, “was democracy.”
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