UPDATED: Political Sparks Fly At Board of Selectmen's Meeting

(Editor's Note: An incorrect time for tonight's candidates' forum was originally published in this article. It has since been corrected. We apologize for the confuson.)

If Monday night was a warm-up act, Wilmington residents will want to tune in tonight for the Main Event.

Halfway through the Board of Selectmen's meeting at Town Hall, fireworks erupted again between Chairman Michael Newhouse and resident Kevin MacDonald, a candidate for one of the two seats up for grab on the board at the April 30 Municipal Election.

The flare up resulted in Newhouse kicking MacDonald out of a selectmen's meeting for the third time in the past several weeks.

Trouble began when MacDonald tried to ask questions of Joe Martiniello and a representative of the american Cancer Society after the pair had made a presentation regarding the 5th annual Relay for Life, coming up in June. After the two got up to leave, MacDonald began asking Newhouse if the pair was available to answer questions.

Newhouse cut MacDonald off and told him to be quiet.

"Mr. MacDonald you have not been recognized," he said.

MacDonald then followed the pair into the hallway to continue to try and ask questions before returning to his seat in Room 9.

The problems then escalated as Newhouse read his statement, made as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, which will be part of the 2012 Annual Town Report. After reeling off some of the successes the town enjoyed during 2012, including the purchase of the former Yentile Farm, producing a balanced budget and the seemless transition in the Town Manager's office as Jeffrey Hull succeeded Michael Caira, Newhouse then addressed the high school project.

Though never mentioning anyone by name, Newhouse issued a scathing indictment of MacDonald and other opponents of the project, who had filed several appeals, delaying the project by one full school year. Newhouse accused the residents of abusing the appellate process at the expense of the taxpayers and school childen of the town.

"In the end, the Department of Environmental Protection has upheld the town's position, but it is expected that these frivolous appeals have cost the town approximately $1.7 million," he said. "More importantly, they will have deprived the students of Wilmington a full academic year in the new facility."

The school is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2015.

After Newhouse finished, MacDonald interjected, saying that the appeals were not frivolous and that he and the other opponents of the project were concerned about environmental impact and health of residents.

At that point, Newhouse had had enough and told MacDonald to leave the meeting or be escorted out by Police chief Michael Begonis, who was in attendance at the meeting.

MacDonald left the meeting but got in the last word on the way out the door.

"There's a big oil leak down there Mr. Newhouse," said MacDonald. "The chief can speak about it. He was down there when I recovered the oil."

Back in January, Newhouse announced that MacDonald would no longer be allowed to speak during the public comment period at selectmen's meetings because of what was deemed to be disruptive and disrespectful conduct at earlier meetings.

The candidates' forum at WCTV is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) at the WCTV Studios with a Meet and Greet reception with the candidates. The forum itself, sponsored by the Town Crier and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with the Selectmen candidates, followed by the School Candidates at 7:15 p.m.

Wilmington Patch Senior Editor Bill Gilman will serve on the media panel for the event, along with representatives from the Town Crier and Lowell Sun.