News

House committee weighs bill that would require teachers to answer parents’ questions

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

At a parent-teacher conference a decade ago, Tina Kim Philibotte learned her child was gay.The disclosure took Philibotte – a self-described progressive and now one of four public school diversity, equity, inclusion and justice administrators in New...

New Hampshire man convicted of killing daughter, 5, ordered to be at sentencing after skipping trial

By KATHY McCORMACK

A judge has ruled that a New Hampshire man convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter must appear in person for his upcoming sentencing after he didn’t attend his trial.Adam Montgomery, 34, had attended his first day of jury selection in February,...

Granite Geek: 28 years after an ‘e-mail course’ a professor ponders changes to online courses

By DAVID BROOKS

More than 28 years ago I interviewed Kenneth Levasseur, a professor at UMass-Lowell, about his innovative new project: A math class via email.In the resulting column I noted that the course, the school’s first official online class, would have...

Donna Daffy paints Dunbarton yellow with daffodils

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Every spring morning, as the first rays of sunlight dance across Dunbarton, Donna Dunn is treated to a vibrant sea of yellow daffodils unfurling before her eyes.It’s a sight that fills her heart with indescribable joy, a gift that few are fortunate...

Flying Monkey spared in Saturday fire that guts two nearby buildings on Plymouth’s Main Street

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

A fire on Main Street in Plymouth Saturday night tore through two empty commercial buildings but left one, the neighboring Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center, largely unscathed.Just after 9 p.m., with a Foreigner-Journey tribute band on...

N.H. Educators voice overwhelming concerns over State Board of Education’s proposals on minimum standards for public schools

By RHIANWEN WATKINS

Teachers, school superintendents and members of the public are criticizing the State Board of Education’s proposal for updating minimum standards for public schools, saying it would weaken education and reduce state funding, forcing taxpayers to...

Diaper Spa owner faces mental health board

By ANGELINA BERUBEEagle TribuneFor the second time in as many months, the owner of the Atkinson Diaper Spa faced state regulators and defended herself against claims that she unlawfully operated the business without the required medical licenses or...

Emergency rooms at local hospitals are overcrowded. Here's what to know.

By OLIVIA BELANGERThe Keene SentinelMonadnock Region hospitals are grappling with overcrowding in their emergency departments, reflective of a nationwide surge in wait times.A variety of factors are driving the longer waits, local department heads...

A trans teacher asked students about pronouns. Then the education commissioner found out.

By SARAH GIBSON

Kamren Munz knew they wanted to be a teacher from a young age. They grew up in a family of educators. They worked as a substitute for a few years and eventually settled in as a middle school art teacher in Nashua, one of the largest and most diverse...

Downtown cobbler breathes life into tired shoes, the environmentally friendly way

By RAY DUCKLER

Visiting United Shoe Repair downtown may not only result in improved shoes, but also may serve as an environmentally friendly act.D.J. Annicchiarico is on the ground floor of conservation, an individual whose multi-generational business dates back 115...

Henniker forum to focus on Main Street crosswalks

By DAVID BROOKS

The owner of Superscoops on Henniker’s Main Street says she’s ready to make the ultimate business sacrifice to help the people who flock to her walk-up window in nice weather.“I’m willing to give up two parking spots in front of my store so there’s a...

People of color incarcerated at higher rates in New Hampshire, but data is limited

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Four years after a commission to study law enforcement in New Hampshire produced a series of recommendations about better policing practices, people of color continue to be disproportionally incarcerated in the state at virtually the same rates. For...

Hometown Hero: Hats off to this Penacook woman, a crafts lover whose artistic, and altruistic, nature has benefited people with serious illnesses

By RAY DUCKLER

Nancy Peperissa’s secrets to help people involve cotton and rice, two items she uses to craft items with others in mind.She crochets cotton to make soft skull caps for chemotherapy patients. The rice she inserts into a doll’s midsection gives it...

Former Concord firefighter sues city, claiming years of homophobic sexual harassment, retaliation

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

A former Concord firefighter has filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that coworkers and supervisors sexually harassed him for years, including by using homophobic slurs, and retaliated against him when he complained.After Christopher Golomb...

From a book to bread, Merrimack Valley High School students show off their senior projects

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

In January, Merrimack Valley High School senior Lena Pelleteri’s mother passed away following a multi-year battle with cancer.For her senior project, Pelleteri put her “pain on paper”, as she put it, writing a 40-page book that delved into her...

‘We’re just kids’: As lawmakers debate transgender athlete ban, some youth fear a future on the sidelines

By ERIC RYNSTON-LOBEL

Maëlle Jacques has read the articles written about her.“Winner of NH Girls High Jump is Biological Male.”“Transgender girl blasted after dominating New Hampshire girls high jump.”“U.S. ‘Full of Failing Gutless Mothers and Fathers’: High School Boy...

What’s in a name? Ask an Epsom Yeaton.

By RAY DUCKLER

Norm Yeaton dropped a stack of papers three inches thick, attached by a clip, onto his living room table.The thud said a lot, that an arduous research project by Yeaton – in an attempt to understand the sheer volume of people in Epsom whose last name...

Young adult author Gordon Korman visits Bow Memorial School

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

Horseback riding, Greek mythology, the soccer field, a New Hampshire-inspired repressive society.For 31 Bow Memorial School students who participated in a writing workshop led by legendary young adult author Gordon Korman, wherever things could go...

Vandals hit mausoleum of Tilton's namesake

By GABRIEL PERRY

The Tilton family mausoleum was vandalized Monday night, according to cemetery officials. The mausoleum, which sits atop the tallest hill in the cemetery and was constructed to house the crypts of the Tilton family members, was constructed in the 19th...