BY GINGER KOZLOWSKIEpsom voters were emphatic about keeping the official ballot vote but allowed both town and school budgets to pass as recommended. Everything passed in Hooksett for the school vote, but nearly everything failed in Allenstown. Candia passed a school budget and kept its Budget Committee, but put the town on a default operating ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYLocal towns are dealing with the wrath of Mother Nature, who dropped ice around the Granite State, leaving a good portion of the state in the dark. More than 325,000 New Hampshire residents were left without power following an ice storm that many officials say was worse than the one that took place in 1998. Virtually all of ...

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKITax rates are being set for the year, and some towns, like Candia, are seeing large increases. Candia In Candia, the new tax rate increased by $2.31 per $1,000 of property value, to $20.90, a 12 percent hike. The new rate will result in a bill of $5,225 for the owner of a home assessed at $250,000, about $577 higher than last ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEY With Halloween arriving, not all students will be getting tricks or treats in the classroom, as many schools have shifted away from traditional festivities. One school that has done away with Halloween festivities is Hooksett’s Fred C. Underhill School, as Assistant Principal Ralene St. Pierre said the school has been ...

BY RYAN O’CONNOR Last year, Auburn’s Joey Dudek rode his arm and leg to Gillette Stadium – and very nearly the Super Bowl. Dudek, who won the 10- and 11-year-old division of the local Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition last August, also triumphed at the sectional competition in Bristol, R.I., and then the regional ...

EASTERN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS Although Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, has not been detected in samples taken from around New England this year, officials urge that care be taken to avoid contracting this viral disease, considered to be one of the most deadly mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, according to the U.S. ...

BY JENN McDOWELL As warm summer weather entices people to spend more time outside, state health officials are warning residents to be more aware of the big dangers that lie in wait in the tiniest of organisms. Jason Stull, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ public health veterinarian, said that right now ...

BY JENN McDOWELLEpsom Police Chief Wayne Preve said he’s lost two officers this year to other departments that offer higher pay and more opportunities. Officer Joseph Lister left in April, about two weeks after the March vote, at which the town inherited its fourth default budget in a row. He took an opening with the Northwood Police ...

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI If there’s one person who’s doing well in this changing economy, it’s John Labbe. Labbe is the owner of Hearth Designs in Hooksett, and he sells pellet stoves, wood stoves, fireplaces and other heating-related items. With people looking for alternatives to heating with oil, he said pellet stoves ...

BY JENN McDOWELLIt’s going to be a lot harder for the Hills family of Allenstown to stay afloat financially this year, with fuel prices hitting record highs. Jeanne Hills babysits her toddler grandson, staying home while her husband and her adult children work. With the price of heating oil averaging more than $4.50 a gallon, according to ...