By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  Town administrator T. Joseph Almond needed less than two days to investigate the town highway superintendent’s alleged misuse of a Department of Public Works snow plow to clean the driveway at his Riverside home —  and level punishment.

Michael Gagnon has been suspended for 15 days without pay as of Friday morning, and placed on a six-month probationary period, Almond later said from his office.
In addition, John McQueen, the town’s  DPW director, also has been suspended for five days without pay, while a third worker was issued a written reprimand for failure to report the violation.
Almond would not reveal the name of that laborer/driver. He added that Gagnon has a 10-day window to appeal the decision, but didn’t expect one.
“It’s an inexcusable action for a supervisor,” Almond stated of Gagnon, who has worked for the town for approximately 11 years, the last four-plus as highway superintendent. “The issue was resolved (Friday). Officially, he was suspended this morning and placed on six months probation, one in which any future violation would result in termination.
“In addition to that, he has lost his ability to take a vehicle home with him,” he added. “When he is reinstituted, he may use a town vehicle only after reporting to work.”
Almond also noted Gagnon -- who previously had been allowed to drive a town pickup truck home with him, apparently for emergency overnight use -- has been ordered to pay $418 to the town, that restitution estimated at the cost of equipment usage, fuel and the clearing of his driveway. Gagnon earns an annual salary of about $52,000, and Almond said the fine should total about $4,000.
When The Times attempted to contact Gagnon, of 267 Forbes Road in Riverside, a family member hung up the phone.
As for McQueen’s suspension, Almond offered, “It’s simply because he is responsible for all the rules, regulations and policies of the department, and there was a communication violation to this office. I’m not saying he did anything wrong, but he is responsible for such rules.”
That third laborer was given the written reprimand not for following a directive from his boss, but for failure to report the violation.
Gagnon’s next-door neighbor, Bernie Lamarre, said he had observed the superintendent occasionally using Lincoln trucks for his own use for years, including delivering firewood to his home in the pickup and also snowplowing. Lamarre claimed he owns the land that leads to Gagnon’s home, and the two have feuded for years.
“When he saw me filming him with the firewood, he sped up and drove away,” said Lamarre, 40, who admitted the two had a rocky relationship since he bought his property about 11 years ago. “I never talked to him about (the illegal use of the trucks). Why bother? He should know better.”
Lamarre also said he had called Almond about that misuse a few years ago, but the town failed to respond. Last spring, after another call from Lamarre, Almond had reportedly warned Gagnon about using town equipment for personal purposes. Gagnon reportedly denied the accusation.
The trouble started when Lamarre videotaped Gagnon and another party plowing Gagnon’s driveway. On Wednesday, Lamarre e-mailed WLNE-TV Channel 6, and  a news crew came to his home 15 minutes later to see his videos.
Almond said he found about the matter Wednesday afternoon.
“He came to me and said Channel 6 was looking for him, and I said, ‘Tell me what happened,’” Almond offered.
“He did, and he was sent home. In a case like this, you put the employee on leave. You take his truck and just say ‘Go home. When we’re ready -- we’ll call you back.’ Saying he was suspended without pay is inaccurate (until an investigation takes place).”
When told of Gagnon’s suspension, Lamarre said, “I would say it’s too lenient. If I was a taxpayer in the town of Lincoln, I’d be outraged.”