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By RAY DUCKLER

Emily Ricard makes wishes, big wishes, come true.Last spring, for example, a little boy with a rare form of cancer got his wish, a trip to Disney World. He had fun and is now feeling better.“The update is that he is doing well,” said Ricard, who works...

By RAY DUCKLER

In years past, Tara Blaney, a member of the Chichester Budget Committee, has carried a fiscally conservative voice into town and school meetings, trying to balance the welfare of the town with the health of its bank accounts.Saturday, though, at the...

By RAY DUCKLER

The Attorney General’s Office concluded Friday that the two state troopers – working as part of a SWAT Team response – who shot and killed a Franklin man last November in an armed standoff were justified in their actions.Troopers Aramus Caraballo and...

By RAY DUCKLER

Amid all the property tax hikes in the Concord area this town meeting season, Pembroke residents are facing the biggest with a whopping 28.1% increase in one year.The combined town and school tax rate is expected to increase from $27.88 to $35.70 –...

By RAY DUCKLER

Hot topic: While many school districts in the region are facing potential double-digit tax increases to pay for their children’s education, Chichester Central School will seek just a 61-cent hike in the tax rate, from $11.73 to $12.34, or an...

By RAY DUCKLER

They’d seen each other a few times before, a pair of dog lovers walking the trails under the Sewalls Falls Bridge in Concord.They’d smile, nod, say hi – common behavior among dog lovers, who often know a dog’s name before they know the owner’s name....

By RAY DUCKLER

With hypothermia approaching fast, the combined efforts of a Franklin police officer who jumped into freezing water, working in concert with firefighters and other rescue personnel, saved the lives of two young boys last Friday who had fallen from...

By RAY DUCKLER

You might have seen some of Stacy Duffy’s Girl Scouts standing in front of grocery and convenience stores in recent days, selling those yummy cookies like Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs and Samoas.She runs Troop 10162, and her lineup of girls has fanned out as...

By RAY DUCKLER

Back in the 1970s, Peter Spaulding and other like-minded Republicans met at the old Brick Tower bar in Concord regularly to consider the direction of their party.There, Spaulding, Steve Duprey, Jim Cleveland and a small group of young GOP members,...

By RAY DUCKLER

Melissa Reep’s father thought he was funny each time he showed his daughter the calendar and asked her to point to her birthday.She’d flip to February and move her finger down to the last day of the month and find that it was missing more often than...

By RAY DUCKLER

Jerry Lavigne bowed slightly to receive his medal, draped around his neck like an official presenting gold at the Olympics, leading to a handshake and a two-minute speech that seamlessly mixed laughter with tears.Lavigne smiled when he spoke at the...

By RAY DUCKLER

Jill Doyle got her tank filled at the gas station near the East Concord traffic circle recently and received plenty of warmth on a freezing morning.She stayed comfortable in her car while an attendant pumped her gas at East Concord Mobil, an...

By RAY DUCKLER

Bob Wolfe heard the story nearly 25 years ago about a 10-year-old boy sprawled out on the side of a road in Sierre Leone shortly after a rebel fighter had cut off his legs.“That was it,” Wolfe said. “That was all I needed.” He had been shown the dark...

By RAY DUCKLER

She sat in a room below a shrine of flags, medals and framed photos in honor of her son, next to the young daughter of her late sister.The conversation shifted, moving from the death of Heather Demello’s son, Dustin Hall, a 21-year-old member of the...

By RAY DUCKLER

A Hooksett police officer arrested a Pittsfield man with an outstanding warrant at the Circle K gas station in town earlier this month and then discovered that the suspect was in possession of a large amount of controlled substances, police...

By RAY DUCKLER

A national chain replaced a family-owned restaurant on Loudon Road as Texas Roadhouse opened its doors on Monday, replacing the Newick’s Lobster House, which closed in March.The lobster house building was torn down, and replaced by the...

By RAY DUCKLER

Initially, while visiting the local Aubuchon Hardware store this week to say goodbye, Jeff Ginn declined an opportunity to address his emotions concerning the franchise that he dedicated 50 years to.A day later, though, Ginn, who grew up in Pembroke...

By RAY DUCKLER

He walked into the local convenience store loaded with the protective gear that he uses to defend himself and the residents of Pittsfield.He wore a bulletproof vest and carried a taser, two magazine cartridges, a service pistol, pepper spray and a...

By RAY DUCKLER

For regular customers like Dick and Andrea Bean of Pembroke who stopped by the Aubuchon store on South Main Street this week, the 40% off sale was exciting, but the news that the business is shutting down was beyond disappointing.The Beans came for...

By RAY DUCKLER

The outside door at N’Awlins Grille, which is holding its grand opening Tuesday night just off Main Street, leads to a tiny foyer.You’ll see a fireplace with a fake fire in it, wallpaper showing a four-pane window with Spanish moss hanging in the...