News
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...
Beekeepers, farmers square off in NH Senate committee hearing
By RICK GREEN
Farmers and beekeepers seem like natural allies, but they disagreed Thursday on House Bill 1698, which would allow people to spray pesticides from drones without first notifying neighbors.Mary Ellen McKeen, president of the N.H. Beekeepers...
Conway selectmen condemn racist remarks from resident
By DAYMOND STEER
On Tuesday, Conway Selectmen Steve Porter and Ryan Shepard condemned racist comments that were made against a hotel developer at the April 11 planning board meeting.The comments were made during a conceptual review of Ashok Patel's proposal to...
The fraught path forward for cannabis legalization, explained
By ETHAN DeWITT
New Hampshire’s cannabis legalization effort has reached a tricky crossroads.A year after Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would support a legalization approach that meets a number of strict conditions, the New Hampshire House has passed a bill. That...
Mother of two convicted of negligent homicide in fatal Loudon crash released on parole
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
Maggie Doorlag said she could picture her life outside the walls of the women’s prison, where she’d spent the last 17 months. She’d be reunited with her husband and two young daughters. She would get her cosmetology license and continue with...
After delay over neighbors’ concerns, Christ the King Food Pantry headed for rebuild
By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN
Plans for a new building for Christ the King Parish’s food pantry are moving forward after they were held up due to safety concerns, and a lack of communication with abutters, in February.The city Planning Board approved revised plans this week, which...
Casinos can no longer charge rent to charities
By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN
Governor Chris Sununu has signed legislation that no longer allows casinos to impose rent charges on charities.On Tuesday, House Bill 1203 was signed into law, allowing charities to keep the entirety of the money they receive from casinos, some of...
Students’ first glimpse of new Allenstown school draws awe
By JEREMY MARGOLIS
Jaws dropped and cheers erupted as Allenstown students entered their new school building for the first time Thursday morning.“Yo, this looks like a mall,” said an eighth grade boy in a Bruins shirt. “Smell that new school smell,” observed another.“We...
‘Bridging the gap’: Phenix Hall pitch to soften downtown height rules moves forward
By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN
Sue McCoo knew that adding flexibility to downtown zoning to allow for the repurposing of Phenix Hall would mean her store, Hilltop Consignment, would probably lose its longtime home on Main Street. The zoning change would open the door for the...
Man granted parole for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of 2 Dartmouth College professors
By KATHY McCORMACK
A man who has served more than half of his life in prison for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors as part of a plan to rob and kill people before fleeing overseas was granted parole Thursday.James Parker...
