An explosion blew firefighters to the ground as they fought a two-alarm blaze at 13 Jonathan Lane on Oct. 25, but fortunately no one was injured, a fire official said.

“It was a good-sized explosion,” Bow Assistant Fire Chief Richard Pistey said. “It literally knocked down the first crew.”

Pistey said firefighters from Bow and Concord were first to arrive at the scene about 6 p.m. when flames were shooting well into the air. Five other fire departments provided mutual aid.

“We were just unloading groceries,” said Glenn Foley, who lives at the home with his wife and two children. “My wife noticed smoke. Then we looked outside and saw the garage on fire.”

Foley, his family members, their four cats and two dogs were able to escape the house safely.

Foley said he and his children had been home for a few hours before the fire started, and his wife had just returned home.

When firefighters first arrived, the garage attached to the two-story house was fully-involved with flames extending into a breezeway, Pistey said.

“They stopped it where they found it,” he said. While the firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading, water and smoke damaged the house. The fire burned through the roof of the garage, which was completely destroyed.

“The garage is gone, but the house is definitely salvageable,” Pistey said.

The Red Cross was called to the scene to offer assistance to the Foley family. Neighbors also took in some of their pets. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

What does learning about the environment have to do with math? Bow High School teacher Marcel Duhaime plans to show students the answer.

Duhaime, an algebra, pre-calculus and calculus teacher, is one of 19 teachers nationwide awarded Sept. 9 with a grant by the National Environmental Education Foundation in conjunction with The Weather Channel to bring environmental studies into typically non-environmental type classes, such as math.

“Marcel represents a generation of teachers who will help students flourish in the 21st century’s green economy,” said Diane Wood, president of the National Environmental Education Foundation. “Environmental education is more than just helping build an appreciation for the natural world, it’s about preparing our young people for the careers of tomorrow.”

The grant allows Duhaime to take two graduate- level online courses to learn how to intertwine environmental issues with his math lesson plans. The courses are offered by the Environmental Education and Training Program through the University of Wisconsin at Steven’s Point.

Duhaime, 45, a Hooksett native who is married and has a son in the fourth grade, said he’s been an avid outdoorsman his entire life. Some of his favorite hobbies include backpacking, sea kayaking and snowshoeing. He also spent several years in the Boy Scouts program, the Appalachian Mountain Club and served in the U.S. Coast Guard.

“I’m trying to bring environmental education to everybody,” Duhaime said. “And I’m trying to make it personalized for the kids so they want to get involved.”

Duhaime says he’s already coming up with ideas since collaborating online with teachers from around the country and the world who are trying to bring environmentally -centered lesson plans to their respective classes. Some of the ideas are simple, such as getting students to calculate Sawyerocean tides and air temperatures.

“I’m trying to get the raw data and present it to the kids to make models for predictions of the future,” he said.

Duhaime said today’s lesson plans are a lot different from as recently as 10 years ago, allowing for more hands-on learning through activities such as laboratory experiments using data.

“Math classes are a lot different than when I was in high school,” he said.

Athlete of the Month sponsored by Indian Head Athletics

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

He’s quiet in general, but Wade Brown’s pitching in particular has silenced opposing bats in the New Hampshire Baseball League’s postseason, helping his Bow Falcons close within a single victory of the league title.

Brown is 3-0 so far in the wooden-bat league’s playoffs, earning him the Indian Head Athletics Athlete of the Month for August.

The postseason is no aberration for Brown, who allowed one earned run during three starts and five relief appearances while posting a 0.28 ERA in 32 innings pitched for the regular- season’s top team.

And it wasn’t just Brown’s arm that’s helped Bow reach the title series against the defending champion Manchester Eagles. Brown’s legs were the deciding factor in the semifinals.

Facing Bedford in the second game of the best-ofthree series, Brown led from second base in the ninth inning of a tied game.

Mike Percy singled to left, and the throw from the outfield was on target, but Brown’s hard, clean slide jarred the ball from the catcher’s glove, bringing the Falcons onto the field in celebration of their two-game sweep. Bow continued its strong play in game one of the best-of-three NHBL finals, beating the Eagles, 7-3.

Frank De Maria, Bow’s manager, said Brown is an unassuming family man during the week, but he becomes a fiery competitor when the uniform’s on.

“He is totally focused when he’s playing,” said De Maria. “He’s soft-spoken, but he comes out and gives a Herculean effort every time he’s on the field.”

According to De Maria, many in the league, which includes athletes 38 and older, have played high-level college baseball, with some playing professional baseball in their prime.

Brown was a solid high school player, but he never played college ball.

“That’s what makes it even more amazing,” said De Maria. “He’s just such a great athlete.”

Brown’s success in the league is an added bonus; he joined five years ago for different reasons.

“The camaraderie with teammates is just as important as trying to stay in shape and play some good, honest baseball,” said Brown. “This gives you the opportunity to do what you did as a kid, and really enjoy yourself.”

(Editor’s note: The Athlete of the Month receives a $50 gift certificate courtesy of Indian Head Athletics.)

Bedford’s ride to a District 1 championship nearly hit a speed bump, courtesy of a powerful Bow team.

On July 15, Bow’s 11- and 12-year-olds pushed the eventual champions to the limit but lost, 6-4, during the losers’ bracket quarterfinals.

Bow fell behind after the first inning, 3-0, but Colby Fortin began his team’s comeback with an RBI groundout in the top of the third.

Though small ball helped put Bow on the board, the long ball put them ahead in the visiting half of the fifth, when Nate Corriveau and Fortin hit back-to-back home runs to give their team a 4-3 lead.

After Evan Vulgamore led off the inning with a double, Corriveau launched a rocket over the fence, and after a Bedford pitching change, Fortin followed suit.

While the bottom of the frame started quietly enough with a strikeout and two infield singles, Bedford recaptured the lead soon after with a two-out bases-loaded triple that scored three runs.

“I was surprised it was such a hit-fest,” said Bow manager Jamie Vulgamore. “When they went up, 3-0, you just never know how the kids are going to battle back. They answered nicely.”

Despite his team’s elimination from the bracket, Vulgamore said he doesn’t believe it’ll be the last time his players suit up together.

“We’re a small town, so for us to be able to compete against these teams, I don’t see anyone that can keep up with these guys when they get to the high school level,” said Vulgamore.

Team members were Ryan Boldwin, Vulgamore, Corriveau, Fortin, Sam Morrow, Sebastian Strong, Dylan Bibeau, Stephen Panella, Travis Reynolds, Nathan Cunningham, Patrick Hughes, Connor Simpson and Nick Kruger.

Following a loss to Salem National, Bow tripped up and fell into the losers’ bracket of the District 1 baseball tournament.

Three wins after that setback, a confident Bow squad found itself hoping to plan a different kind of trip.

On Monday, July 13, the 11- and 12-year-old all-stars won their third consecutive game with a 5-3 win over Derry American and earned a spot in the losers’ bracket semifinal against Bedford in a game scheduled for Wednesday, July 15.

Should Bow overcome Bedford, it would find itself in the losers’ bracket final with a rematch against Salem National, hoping to avenge an 11-1 loss from July 3 and earn the right to face Windham, the victor in the winners’ bracket.

Bow manager Jamie Vulgamore said he has confidence his team would be able to defeat Windham the required two games, and he has his eyes set on a higher goal.

“We’ve been playing every other day and we’ve had every type of game,” said Vulgamore.

“We’ve had to come back, we’ve had to hold the lead. I don’t think our kids are concerned at all. They think that they could win two against the Windham, and they think they could go to Connecticut (to the East Regional tournament).”

In the victory over Derry, Nate Corriveau hurled 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight batters to earn the win in addition to smacking a two-run home run in the fourth. Corriveau was scheduled to pitch against Salem National if Bow can defeat Bedford. and advance.

Number six hitter Sabastian Strong hit his first long ball of the tournament in the second inning against Derry to open the scoring, pounding a solo shot to give his team a 1-0 advantage.

Nate Cunningham added to the lead with an RBI single in the third inning before Corriveau’s home run, which was followed shortly after in the fourth by Colby Fortin’s solo shot to give Bow a 5-0 lead.

“We have a lot of big hitters,” said Vulgamore. “I have the deepest lineup that I think a Bow all-star team has every had. My six through nine hitters are just as good as my leadoff and second hitters.”

In six tournament games, Bow has pounded out 50 runs for a 5-1 record.

The team’s pitching has also been solid, and Vulgamore said unlike many Little League teams, he doesn’t have to rely solely on his ace.

“For me, it’s hard figuring out who to start. I really have three aces. I never have to worry about getting through one game to get to our ace pitcher,” said Vulgamore. “We knew coming into this year that it was our time to make a run at it. This has been our best shot in Bow for a while, and we’ve known that for a while.”

Chris and Steve Gaudreau keep sharing the wealth.

On Wednesday, June 10, the brothers coached the Bow boys lacrosse team to a 15-8 victory over Dover, clinching their second consecutive Division-II title and third in six years.

Last year, Steve returned after a one-year hiatus, joining Chris and 10 seniors en route to the championship. This year, after taking a heavy hit from graduation, Chris said there were many holes to fill but added the players in the pipeline made the transition nearly seamless.

“For us, it’s like deja vu. It’s almost too good to be true,” said Chris Gaudreau.

“We’ve used the word lucky, but a lot of it is that we’ve been very fortunate to have these great kids that listen, work hard and allow us to coach them. I hope we can continue to be in the mix, but you never know, which is why these last couple years have been so special.”

Though the Falcons continued their dominance after losing double-digit seniors the last two years, Gaudreau said the departure of goalie David Bucchino and attacker Sean Dippold – two of three captains and four recent graduates - may be just as tough to overcome.

“David is a phenomenal player, and with all his (personal) honors, he was a leader in the truest sense of the word,” said Chris Gaudreau. “And Sean, he stepped in his junior and senior years and was just an absolutely tremendous competitor. He led by example by the amazing amount of emotion and intensity he brought. And he took it to even another level in the playoffs this year.”

While Dippold notched three goals to help lead the Falcons past Dover, Bucchino stopped 16 shots to secure the victory.

Junior Alex Davies stole the offensive show with six goals, and classmate Christian Calkins impressed with five assists to complement his three tallies.

“We’re very proud of this team, especially because these kids played their best at the end of the season,” said Chris Gaudreau. “We were simply dominant at times in the playoffs, and more importantly we carried ourselves well. We made mistakes along the way, but we owned those mistakes.”

Along with Davies and Calkins, the Falcons’ third captain, backfielder Griffin Sandler, is expected back, as are midfield standouts Greg Bueddeman and Chris Roberts and sophomore defender Greg Stevens, among a plethora of other talented athletes.

Chris Gaudreau said it’s tough to envision a change in the current co-coaching arrangement.

“We’re both young, and splitting responsibility equally, we’re able to stay sharp and energized,” he said. “Never say never, and things change, but I don’t see either one of us going anywhere anytime soon.”

It took two meetings and about eight hours, but Bow residents decided on the items on this year’s town warrant.

On Wednesday, May 27, voters resumed discussion on the items left after the original meeting two weeks prior, amending only two articles.

During the first half of Town Meeting, residents only got through three of the articles, passing each.

After the two-week recess, all of the remaining issues were approved, but on Article 8 voters trimmed $100,000 from the proposed $249,000 to be set aside for road paving.

The only other item residents changed the amount on was in Article 22, where the figure was changed from $5,000 to $38,000 for improvements at the Community Building. Originally, the money was designated to improve the restrooms and the floor, but the entire floor needs to be replaced, so the number was increased.

One other notable item approved by voters was Article 25. Residents will no longer come together in May for Town Meeting, as it will be switched to March.

“We’ve been searching since earlier this decade for a way to turn more people out,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison. “There were those who would say that if we adopt SB-2 that’ll do it. Some of us don’t agree with that. We want to get more people out where there can be explanation and debate.”

The meeting lasted just over four hours following a four-hour meeting on May 13. Among the other articles approved were equipment purchases for an ambulance and a dump truck, deposits into multiple capital reserve funds and a new policy requiring final votes taken by the budget committee and selectmen be recorded and placed next to the affected portion of the town report.

This year was the first meeting in multiple years where residents did not trim money off the budget.

“This year’s budget and warrant articles were reduced, so it should show a tax reduction,” said Kenison. “We knew from the onset of drafting the budget that residents wanted a level-funded budget, so we gave them that.”

Losses are never fun, but Chris Gaudreau can’t deny early-season setbacks have benefitted his Bow boys lacrosse team the last two years.

Despite losing 10 seniors from the 2008 Division II championship squad, Gaudreau, who coaches the Falcons with his brother Steve, said this year’s unit has shown significant improvement following an 8-6 defeat at Timberlane in its fourth contest.

Since that stumble, Bow has won five straight games and improved its record to 8-1.

On Friday, May 15, the Falcons traveled to Dover, where the Green Wave moved the matchup from afternoon to evening.

“I think they were looking for a playoff atmosphere under the lights,” said Gaudreau.

It certainly provided a litmus test for both squads.

After allowing Dover to score first, the Falcons took a 5-2 lead into the second quarter, held a 7-5 advantage at half time, traded two goals apiece with the Green Wave in the third, and pulled away in the final period for a 12-8 victory.

“That was a real dogfight of a game, but I feel we’ve been playing better and getting better every time out since that early hiccup (against Timberlane),” said Gaudreau. “The challenge is going to be keeping that going and making sure we’re peaking at the right time.”

That’s a reasonable expectation, he said, thanks to the leadership and postseason experience of senior goalie David Bucchino, classmate Sean Dippold, an attacker, and junior backfielder Griffin Sandler, Bow’s three captains.

“All three know what it takes and know what we expect,” said the coach. “They know how to win.”

While Dippold has accumulated 15 goals and 19 assists through nine contests, Alex Davies and Christian Calkins have really sparked Bow’s attack.

Davies, who split time all over the field last season, leads the current squad with 35 goals and 19 assists, while Calkins, who was not with the Falcons in 2008, has contributed 20 tallies.

Junior speedster Greg Bueddeman, on the other hand, has stepped out of the offensive limelight to become a playmaker as the team’s center midfielder.

“For someone who didn’t have a whole lot of experience taking faceoffs in the past, his success in that area is one of the main reasons we’ve had so many quality transition opportunities,” said Gaudreau. “He’s one of the best finishers we’ve ever had here, and he had more than 20 goals last year. We’ve been really impressed with his willingness to change for the sake of the team.”

Junior Chris Roberts, who also started for the locals last season, solidifies the midfield. Defensively, Sandler and sophomore Greg Stevens have saved a backfield almost completely depleted by graduation.

Stevens has utilized superb hands and stickwork to shut down the opposition’s top offensive threats, said his coach.

Though the pieces seem to be falling into place, Gaudreau said the current lot of players still has a lot to prove if a repeat is expected.

“We’re definitely on a similar track (to last year) in that we had that early game where we just didn’t bring it, which seemed to wake us up and give us that drive,” he said. “But … this league is stacked. Every team that makes the playoffs is going to have an extreme fight on its hands. If you don’t put out your best effort, you’re probably going to lose in this league.”

Those contributing for the Falcons for the first time this season include senior Nat Bresler; juniors Curtis Perry, Kyle Tracy, Chad Wilkinson, Jacob Hughes, Collin Evans and Michael Dal Pos; sophomore Dylan Erickson and freshman Brad Clark.