VIDEO: Tempers Flare at Public Forum

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above was the only footage of the incident that Wilmington Patch recorded. However, Wilmington Community Television produced and aired the entire meeting. For those interested in viewing the entire exchange, please visit the WCTV Vimeo page and click on the timeline to about 47:30.

The new Wilmington High School vote is coming up, and both residents and town officials in town are passionate about the project. That was evident Thursday night when debate during the public comments section led to a resident being removed from the meeting after a heated exchange with Town Manager Michael Caira.

Kevin MacDonald, who regularly attends meetings in town and who has clashed with officials on several occasions in recent months, spoke for several minutes about why he opposed the project before he was escorted into the hallway.

Following the exchange, State Representative James Miceli voiced addressed Caira and said he felt the removal was in poor taste, and that while he did not agree with what MacDonald was saying, he believed the resident had the right to say it.

"You're absolutely right, he has a right to be heard," Caira said to Miceli. "But he has a right to be respectful at a public body and I think the people in this room have a right to be respected."