Bow News : dunbarton

Five residents take closer look at police work

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:42:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Area police departments are teaming up to show residents just how they work and will host a Citizens Academy for five residents in Dunbarton, Allenstown, Pembroke and Bow.

The eight-week course will give residents the chance to experience classes in police procedures such as fingerprinting, foot-imprint casting and a mock trial with an actual judge sitting in.

“I think what it does is it brings us together in a community- based way,” said Bow police officer Diana Scott. “We have more of a positive interaction with people in our towns. It’s not just a uniform and a car and an arrest. They get to see us and see that we’re average people, and they can put a face with the name to make the connection with each department.”

Residents in the participating towns went through an application process including a background check, and five applicants were selected by the police departments.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said he looks forward to showing people that what happens on police TV shows isn’t the same thing that happens in his department.

“The most important thing is that they’ll get an overview of what we do on the street,” said Mulholland. “People watch TV and get somewhat of a jaded view. They watch these shows where within an hour every resource is available.”

In reality, officers trying to solve a case locally are often faced with a drawn out process.

“There are some things like DNA testing that can take up to a year, and on TV they do it within 15 minutes,” said Mulholland. “They always get people to confess within an hour timeframe. The real world is a different place.”

April 7 will be the first class, and every Tuesday for eight weeks the academy will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. in a variety of locations.

Mulholland said getting citizens familiarized with the faces of his department is one of the biggest benefits of the course.

“One of the biggest complaints people have is that they don’t know the police officers who work in their town,” said Mulholland. z“There’s such change in personnel that people don’t get to know these officers. It’s critical they have that relationship with us.”

Scott also is looking forward to being able to interact with community members.

“They would be more apt to feel comfortable to come and talk to us and ask question,” she said. “We aren’t just a reactive service, we’re proactive. We want to know what we can do to make the community a better place.”

Bow dispatch center raises fees

Bow Editor — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:34:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Bow Dispatch Center will see more revenue in the coming year from the four other towns it services as the town attempts to bring the center’s costs for service more in line with its financial capability.

It costs about $400,000 to run the dispatch center, said Bow Police Chief Jeff Jaran, and under the new fee system Bow will see more than double the amount it currently collects from Epsom, Pembroke, Dunbarton and Allenstown. That includes running equipment as well as paying eight employees, five of those being full time.

The new payment system adds a $10,000 base fee to the costs associated with each town’s service call numbers from 2006. In all of the towns, that amounts to at least a 100 percent increase over what they currently pay.

Bow collected $79,000 between all four towns last year, which, Jaran said, barely funds the salary of one dispatcher. With the new fees, Bow would collect $165,000, leaving about $235,000 to Bow taxpayers.

The increased fees came from discussions with the Bow Board of Selectmen on how to get more revenue for the town. They were forced to tighten their belts for the 2008-09 year.

For 2008-09, Epsom will pay $43,000 for Bow Dispatch services, up from $19,000 for the current year; Pembroke will pay $59,000, a jump from about $30,000; Allenstown will pay $41,000, up from $21,000; and Dunbarton will pay almost $23,000, more than double from the prior year’s $11,000.

Jaran said the affected departments were understanding of Bow’s plight, being in the midst of budget seasons themselves. Many of those towns have been forced to shed some extra weight from their budgets as well.

Bow service calls now account for almost half of the overall call volume, which makes the new distribution of costs fair across the board, Jaran said. In 2006, the year upon which the new fees are based, Bow Dispatch took 6,195 calls from Allenstown; 6,682 from Epsom; 10,072 from Pembroke; 2,605 from Dunbarton; and 18,980 in Bow for total of more than 44,534 calls.

Bow has seen a 12 percent increase in the town’s portion of the total call volume between 2006 and 2007, most of which is attributed to officer-initiated activity, additional officers on the streets and, thus, higher arrest numbers, said Jaran.

“We’ve got more officers doing the job. That alone spikes your calls for service,” said Jaran. “We’re just busier overall, right across the board. You can’t really point to one thing in particular.”

For 2007, Bow Dispatch received a total of 48,139 calls, with Bow’s portion of those amounting to 23,193, he said.

The four other towns have taken the fee increases well, Jaran said, and understand they are still getting exceptional service for a relatively low price.

When plans for changing the fees began brewing in summer 2007, the original proposal was to charge a flat rate of $50,000 for all towns. Jaran said he wanted to see a more equitable means of determining what each town should pay, which resulted in the current plans.

Police from some of the towns have said they looked into other dispatch services, such as Merrimack County, but found there were not yet the facilities and resources to make such a move.

Pembroke Police Chief Scott Lane said he has looked into folding into Merrimack County dispatch services, as well as those town-independent services in Concord and Hooksett, but said Bow was the only viable option.

“I am very happy with Bow’s service. It was fortunate that our fees were as low as they were for as long as they were,” said Lane.

Dunbarton Police Chief Christopher Connelly agreed, saying Bow Dispatch is the best service he’s dealt with in more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and that the increase in fees are more than fair. He added he also looked into other dispatch avenues, but said it wouldn’t save money at this point to switch the information system and frequencies over.

“Really, Bow continues to be our best option and is really in the same ballpark where we could go with other services,” said Connelly. “I think it’s an equitable way to do business based on the calls for service.”

Too short a season – Bow, Dunbarton girls knocked from state tourney

Bow Editor — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:37:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

After dropping out of this year’s state Little League softball tournament, Bow players learned practice skills and life-lessons were important by-products of the experience.

But the most important aspects each all-star takes from the season are newfound friendships and a handful of memories.

Bow’s 11- and 12-year-olds saw their tourney appearance end after a 19-16 home loss to Pelham on Saturday, July 14.

“They were well aware of what they could do,” said Bow manager Van Mosher. “When you get off to a rough start like that (in a 27-7 loss to Auburn), it’s hard to climb back, but to see them work as a team despite not playing together beforehand was just great. We’re one of the only teams that had girls from different towns, while others have girls playing together during the regular season, too.”

Drawing players from Bow and Dunbarton, Mosher’s initial practices focused less on drills and more on developing a level of comfort among his young all-stars. Joining the roster from Dunbarton were Molly Brennan, Holly St. Onge, Jackie Trexler, Molly Goldstein, Brooke Novakoski and Faith Francoeur.

“We were a little nervous because we knew if we didn’t beat Pelham, we were out of the tournament,” said Francoeur, who started both games at first. “But we weren’t sad or crying or anything because I think we had more fun meeting each other and making new friends.”

Starter Kelsie Tucker took the mound, throwing one inning after an injured wrist sidelined her from the Auburn game.

Tucker was roughed up for eight runs in the top of the first, allowing Pelham to score six runs with two outs.

Hits from Tucker, Robin Binsse, Goldstein, Francoeur and Amy Zahensky helped the squad chip away at the deficit.

After knotting the score, 14-14, in the bottom of the fifth, Bow couldn’t overcome Pelham’s three-run attack in top of the sixth.

Zahensky scored three runs in the contest. Binsse came around once, and Madison Stanley scored twice. Tucker and Francoeur each logged two RBI. Completing Bow’s roster were Kim Destafano, who threw four innings of relief, outfielder Angela Conklin and second baseman Julianne Mosher.

“We really wanted to spring back from that Auburn loss and not have a two-game season,” said Mosher. “But it just didn’t happen. For the most part, our girls played against each other during the season and then when they were able to become friends … it really showed their true colors.”

Not again – April nor’easter floods homes, closes roads

Bow Editor — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:12:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

A tree fell on Clinton Street in Bow, causing a chain reaction of events that eventually led to Doug and Katherine Crabb’s downstairs looking more like a wading pool than a basement.

The tree that fell knocked out power lines, causing electricity in the area to be out for more than three hours, and stopping the sump pump, said Doug Crabb.

“I’m surprised this rain turned into this much water,” he said, staring at the puddle that was his basement. “The brook out back, basically turned into a lake.”

It was the surprise factor that really caught them off guard, said Doug.

“We hadn’t really had much rain this spring, so I didn’t really think much of it,” he said. “When we got wet last year, along with everybody else in the state, we got 13 inches of rain in 10 days.

This year, it hadn’t rained in two weeks. We get a pretty decent rainstorm and then all of a sudden, whoomp. The water table must have been up significantly.”

He added that he thought if the town kept better maintenance on dead or damaged trees, the situation could have been avoided.

“It was the whole area – it wasn’t just our street – that was without power for so long,” said Katherine. “So everybody around here was playing the catch-up game.”

Still, local town officials said, overall, the effects of the storm were minimal.

The following is a list of impacted areas:

Bow

The town of Bow experienced no road closures, but several inconveniences due to the recent storm.

“I think we’re better off than some of the surrounding towns,” said Town Manager James Pitts.

“We certainly have some infrastructure damaged, primarily due to the edge of pavement being undermined and damaged, but overall, we’re not looking at large amounts of damage this time around.”

The town is still investigating the impact of the heavy rains, however.

Still, there were several barricades and signs for high water, though the affected roads – Route 3A, Grandview Road and Page Road, among other high-water areas – were still passable.

Some roads had to have lanes narrowed because the edge of the pavement collapsed, said Pitts.

In addition, several areas of town went without power for a few hours, but were restored quickly, he said.

Hopkinton

In Hopkinton, Deputy Fire Chief John Pianka said, in terms of road closures, the recent storm may have been worse than last year’s May floods.

“We probably had probably 13 or 14 roads closed due to washouts,” said Pianka. “I think this year was a little worse than last year. Statistic-wise, maybe it wasn’t, but I think we’ve had more road closures and damage than last year.”

Other weather-related problems, said Pianka, were power outages and flooded basements, which he said kept the fire department busy all day Monday, April 16, and into the next day.

Dunbarton

Fire Chief Jon Wiggin said only two roads, County Road and Kimball Pond Road, were closed due to flooding.

“We had a lot of ditch damage and things like that, about 10 flooded basements that we responded to, and at one time, I think eight roads were down to one lane or had water running across,” said Wiggin. “Other than that, we fared pretty well.”

There were also scattered power outages in town, including at Dunbarton Elementary School.

Concord

Concord, like Bow, Dunbarton and Hopkinton, experienced some trees falling and power outages, but also experienced several road closings or flood water impacts.

State aid at risk

Bow Editor — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:22:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

As the three branches of state government wrangle over how to best provide aid to public schools, local school administrators say they can do little, but watch and wait.

If Gov. John Lynch’s plan to provide a flat 5 percent hike in state education aid over the next two years is accepted by New Hampshire officials, Bow, Dunbarton and Hopkinton will experience potentially drastic revenue adjustments.

Lynch, a resident of Hopkinton, described the scenario as an “interim” solution to the school funding issue, which has divided the courts, the governor’s office and the state Legislature for more than a decade.

Lynch is proposing a constitutional amendment to address state aid. His budget proposal still must survive the srutiny of the Legislature.

The state Supreme Court set a deadline of June 30 for the legislature to define an “adequate education.”

Bow

According to Bow Superintendent Kathleen Holt, the state Department of Education originally indicated Bow would receive $4,318,511 in state aid.

Should Gov. Lynch’s proposal be accepted, Bow could lose roughly $800,000, said Holt.

“At this point, we are not addressing any of these plans until it makes it all the way through.

This is just one proposal of many others across the board right now,” said Bow Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Holt. “Obviously, the 5 percent is different than what the department of education said we would be getting under the old model, but we do not project the tax impact simply because we know the revenues aren’t stable.”

Holt said at the School District Meeting on Friday, March 9, the Bow School Board will show anticipated revenues, but will preface the figures with reasonable uncertainty.

Holt said she is looking forward to having equitable funding for all school districts.

Dunbarton

In Dunbarton, however, the governor’s proposal would actually benefit the district, as it is currently scheduled for a 15 percent reduction in state aid compared to the current fiscal year.

“It’s very difficult to make any predictions because we have to wait for the Legislature to decided where to go,” said school board member Betty Ann Noyes. “The plan that is in effect right now is a 15 percent cut to certain towns and that plan extends beyond this year, so that every year we would get 15 percent less.”

Should nothing change, Noyes says state aid would drop $67,129 from last year’s aid of $447,529 to $380,400.

Should Lynch’s plan be enacted, however, Dunbarton would receive a $22,376 hike in its revenue.

Dunbarton School Board members, realizing the potential for a substantial decrease in revenue, worked diligently to establish an operating budget lower than the current fiscal year.

The proposed operating budget is $4,685,984, down from $4,723,983.

While Noyes is hoping for a change in the current system, she said the timing is poor, and there will always be a percentage of school districts that will inevitably be unhappy with the result.

“There are a tremendous amount of communities who have already calculated their budgets who may lose a tremendous amount of money,” said Noyes, who added that many towns have SB2 and can no longer amend a school district budget, while others will have to base
their numbers on unstable data.

Hopkinton

Ironically, Lynch’s home town of Hopkinton is one such town that, should the state adequacy funding be amended, will have to scramble to make ends meet.

“There is no question, if the governor’s budget were to be the final budget that the Legislature approves, it would result in either the loss of programs and teaching faculty, or a significant increase in taxes in order to meet our budget,” said school board Chairman Marshall Rowe.

“Clearly, the governor’s proposal is devastating to Hopkinton,” he continued. “This obviously complicates the situation because we have our School District Meeting on March 10 and we will be unable to have a definitive answer to many of the questions that will be asked of us regarding the tax impact.”

Rowe said the district was informed by the state department of education it would receive $605,872 in additional revenue, which it incorporated into its operating budget.

The total state adequacy grant for Hopkinton, if nothing changes, would be $2,236,280.

If Lynch’s plan is enacted, however, Hopkinton’s aid would increase only $81,520 for a total
revenue package of $1,711,928 – over half a million less than the amount built into Hopkinton’s current school district budget.

Rowe said Hopkinton School District officials have contacted their state representatives and state senator.

“We are helping them to understand the impact the governor’s proposal has on the district,” he said. “We are encouraging them to keep the current system in place until adequacy is defined properly by the state, so there won’t be the loss of programs and faculty or a drastic increase in taxes here in Hopkinton.”

Rowe said the Legislature should stick, for the current fiscal year, with the formula it has in place.

“They ought not cause additional stress on both students, faculty and taxpayers as they try to determine what is an adequate education and how to fund it,” said Rowe. “I’m confident the Legislature and governor will realize they have the opportunity to sustain the level of education and not increase tax burden, and I’m confident they will realize that for this budgetary cycle.”

– Staff writer Nicholas Brown contributed to this story.

2006 Year in Review - In star-studded year, Hopkinton boys soccer earns top billing

Bow Editor — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:49:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

While others celebrate the end of the year with eggnog, presents and relished time with friends and family, we took a look back at 12 months worth of Neighborhood athletics.

The calendar contributions came from Neighborhood squads at all levels. Some hoisted championship trophies in repeat triumphs; others walked away with consolation medals. Seniors signed national Letters of Intent, while young stars made names for themselves, assuring lasting legacies in their respective sports.

Trying to cull the year’s best victories, unbelievable individual performances, disappointing losses and unforgettable upsets was difficult, as 2006 was packed with plenty of worthy moments.

You could argue Concord High owned the year’s brightest moment: its boys tennis team reclaimed the Class L tennis title, and its golf team repeated as state champs. Maybe it was the Bow girls tennis squad hoisting the championship plaque. Perhaps the honor belongs to the Crimson Tide girls lacrosse team, which took home its second straight state title.

Debate all you’d like, but we have a number of reasons – 204 reasons, to be exact – why 2006’s biggest headline goes to the boys of Hopkinton High soccer, recently named Class M champions.

The Hawks finally soared to the state title after 204 minutes, 32 seconds of game time, spanning four days. On Thursday, Nov. 9, both teams played to extra frames, but this time the Hawks walked away with a 3-2 overtime win and the bragging rights that come from perching atop the Class M boys soccer mountain.

David Wood scored from 40 yards out with 2:53 remaining to tie the game, and Joe Dammann headed in a crossing pass from Matt Demers 4:32 into overtime to give Hopkinton the win.

“Just fight, fight, fight” is how Demers described Hopkinton’s attitude. “That’s how we look at it, and that’s how we like to play. We just came back and said, ‘All year, we worked for this. Every Saturday morning that we had practice, we didn’t do this for nothing.’ We knew we were going to win the state championship.”

After playing to a double overtime, 1-1, tie against top-seeded Gilford on Sunday, Nov. 5, the two teams met again to replay the game on Nov. 8. Another postponement gave the Hawks one more day to think about what it would feel like to bring home their first Class M plaque since 1984.

“ The makeup of the team allows for a lot of resiliency, and we have a lot of heart and we always bounce back from things,” Wood said. “We haven’t had to do it a lot this year, but when we need to, we’ve been able to.”

Winter

Before basketball and ice hockey champions were named, the Granite State’s best swimmers and divers were crowned at the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s championships held at the University of New Hampshire’s Swasey Pool. The boys of Bow took home fifth place with 111 points. Senior co-captain Steven Mulherin placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, while Matthew Card placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke. The Lady Falcons placed 14th with 31 team points.

Concord’s boys swim squad finished 14th, scoring 33 total points. Senior Alex Broadbent placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley. The girls placed eighth with 67 points as Jennifer Corriveau took first in the 50-yard freestyle and second in the 100-yard breaststroke. Bow High’s Caitlin Fellows was one of nearly 600 females recognized at the 19th annual Women’s Athletic/Academic Awards on Feb. 6.

Dover ended Bow’s ice hockey season for the third straight time after knocking out the Falcons, 2-1, in the Division II semifinals.

“It’s never easy losing. To never get a chance at getting to the finals, it’s awful. It’s too bad. I feel terrible for them, that we couldn’t do more for them,” Bow head coach Tim Walsh said of his seniors, who’d been part of three Falcons teams that lost in the Final Four.

In Division I action, Concord was iced, 2-1, by eighthseeded Berlin in the D-I semis. Four minutes into the third period, with the game tied, 1-1, Concord’s sensational keeper, Matt Mosca, made a glove save on a Berlin shot. But the whistle didn’t blow, the puck got loose, slid between Mosca’s legs and over the goal line for the eventual game-winner.

Away from the ice, the Bow boys basketball team earned its first appearance in the Class I finals in more than 10 years with a 67-45 win over Kearsarge. The Falcons bowed to Pelham in the title match.

The girls of Concord gymnastics were joined by gymnasts from Bow and Hopkinton in the NHIAA championship meet. The Crimson Tide club finished fourth overall, while Stephanie Cormier placed ninth for the Falcons and Hopkinton’s Julia Lynch came in 34th. In front of a packed house at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center, Concord’s cheerleaders placed sixth at the NHIAA state competition. On Feb. 16, Bow’s girls ski squad earned the Division III Alpine skiing title.

The seventh-seeded Lady Falcons said goodbye to their season after a Class I girls basketball semifinal loss to Souhegan. Bow finished its regular season at 12-6.

After giving up 24 points on eight straight three-pointers in the fourth quarter, Hopkinton’s girls basketball team fell short in earning a trip to the Class M finals, losing to Newport in the semis.

Concord’s girls basketball team lost in the first round of the Class L tournament.

Meanwhile, on the mats, wrestling’s Meet of Champions brought together the Neighborhood’s best grapplers, including some from Concord and Bow. Falcons sensation DJ Meagher, fresh off his 140-pound championship at the New England Regional Tournament in New Haven, Conn., was named the MoC’s “Outstanding Wrestler.” Bow took home eighth overall, while the Crimson Tide finished second.

Spring

The Class I track and field finals was the stage, and the Bow boys 4 X 400 relay team delivered quite a performance, setting a school record after finishing the race in 3-minutes, 36.12 seconds. As a team, the boys finished sixth while the girls took home eighth. Bow was the only team in the state to score in all three relay races for both the boys and girls.

“When they get to that relay team, they’re ready to go and don’t want to let each other down,” said Bow head coach Dyrace Maxfield. “It kind of makes them tougher all year long.”

Concord’s boys track team placed sixth in Class L action. The girls were ninth. The Crimson Tide girls tennis team earned its first Class L playoff berth in two years before losing in the quarterfinals. Bow High’s boys tennis squad lost to Class I rival Kennett in the semifinals.

After a memorable upset by West last season, the Class L boys tennis title returned to the boys of Concord High when the Crimson Tide knocked off sixthseeded Keene, 5-1. The championship capped a perfect 17-0 season for Concord.

Led by the No. 1 player in the state, Amber Chandronnait, Bow’s girls tennis team captured the Class I championship after defeating previously unbeaten foe Bishop Brady, 6-3. Chandronnait went on to win the individual state tournament before signing her Letter of Intent to play tennis for the University of Nebraska.

Concord’s nine fell to eventual Class L baseball champion Manchester Memorial in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Crimson Tide advanced by beating No. 6 Spaulding in the first round but dropped a 6-1 decision to the Crusaders.

The Crimson Tide softball squad reached the Class L semifinals but fell to eventual state champion Salem.

Both Bow and Hopkinton High’s baseball teams absorbed season-ending losses in the Class I and Class M semifinals, respectively. Bow Memorial School’s track and field team took fourth in the state finals.

In their first season as a varsity program, the girls of Hopkinton lacrosse earned a trip to the Division III playoffs, making an appearance as the 10th seed. Hopkinton’s boys lacrosse squad suffered a Division III semifinal loss.

In Division II action, the Falcons boys lacrosse team lost in the state semis for the second straight season, an 8-7 defeat by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The reigning Division II girls lacrosse champion, Bow was dethroned after an 11-3 loss to Winnacunnet. The Falcons finished their regular season at 12- 1, with the only loss coming at the hands of Winnacunnet. “They buried us more than that in the regular season,” Bow head coach Chris Raabe said.

“We were way outhustled in everything – ground balls, shots on net. You name it and they beat us to it.”

Bishop Guertin of Nashua handed Concord’s boys lacrosse team a 15-10 loss in the Division I semifinals.

Meanwhile, the ladies of Concord lacrosse hoisted the Division I championship plaque as they cruised to their second straight title with an 11-4 win over Nashua South.

Summer

Connor Anderson, 10, of Dunbarton, finished second in the state in the 9- and 10-year-old division in the Drive, Chip and Putt Challenge. In Little League action, an 18- 1 loss to Bedford ended Concord National’s Division I tournament run.

Concord American dropped from the winners’ bracket after a tough, 11-10, loss to Suncook in the first round of the Little League District One majors tournament. The Bow Blue Jays won the Bow Little League minors division championship.

The Bow Falcons Baseball Club dominated the Granite State’s 40+ men’s baseball league with a 21-game win streak. Concord Legion Post 21 posted an 11-9 record, its best finish in the past 10 years.

The Granite State Senior Games included 16 events in nine days. This year’s GSSG hosted a record 507 participants.

Bow’s Jack Finan walked away with a gold medal in the 70- to 74-year-old men’s division at the GSSG’s 5K racewalk. Local trio Brad Hosmer, 66, Norman Gill, 53, and John Valavane, 55, competed in GSSG cycling events. Concord’s Hosmer won gold in the 40K road race, and silver in the 5K time trial and 20K; Gill took bronze in the 5K, 10K time trials and 20K road race, and gold in the 40K; Valavane earned gold in the 5K and 20K, and silver in the 40K. Dunbarton resident Lucille Gage won gold in the 55- to 59- year-old women’s division. Gage competed in the GSSG’s golf tournament.

Concord’s U14 softball team traveled to Virginia and won its second straight national championship.

Fall

Neighborhood News hosted its annual NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition on Sept. 16, where defending sectional champion Sam Winslow placed second in the 10- and 11-year-old boys division. His sister, Abbey, took home first place in the 8- and 9-year-old girls division. Damon Morin of Dunbarton finished third in the 10- and 11- year-old boys division, while Jacob Zylak took seventh. Bow’s Kyle Milne placed third in the 8- and 9-year-old boys division.

Dan Meserve, Hopkinton High athletics director, was named Class M Athletics Director of the Year. The win marked the second time Meserve earned the award in his nine-year post as AD.

The boys of Hopkinton golf placed sixth at the NHIAA Class M-S tournament.

Under third-year head coach Chick Smith, Concord repeated as Class L champions after edging Timberlane and West by one stroke.

The Derryfield School golf team’s four-year championship run ended after a fourth-place finish in the NHIAA Class M-S golf tournament.

Bow High fell to Merrimack Valley, 4-0, in the first round of the Class I field hockey tournament. The Falcons finished their regular season at 5-9.

In Class L action, the girls of Concord field hockey were brought down by a 1-0 quarterfinal loss. The seventh-seeded Tide finished the season at 9-6- 1.

Defending Class L volleyball champion Concord lost in the quarterfinals to finish its season at 11-7.

At the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center, the girls of Bow spirit placed eighth in Class I competition, while Concord took 10th in Class L.

Both Hopkinton’s girls and boys cross country teams took second at the Class M-S championships. A week later, the Concord girls cross country club finished 10th at the Meet of Champions. In the Class L girls soccer tournament, West defeated Concord, 2-0, in the first round.

On the boys side, reigning champion Concord couldn’t repeat, losing in the semifinals. Following a perfect 16-0 record that earned the top seed in the Class I boys soccer tournament, head coach George Pinkham watched as his Bow High team was upset by ninth-seeded Lebanon in the quarterfinals.

After making their 10th semifinal appearance in 11 seasons, Hopkinton’s girls soccer team was again stopped one game short of the finals, this time by Raymond.

There was a lot to celebrate in 2006. Unfortunately, there probably are a number of stories and accomplishments that didn’t find their way into the pages of this sports section, though that hardly diminishes their importance. Having said that, bring on 2007.