BY MATT SCHOOLEYIf you could control the size of your tax bill, would you take that opportunity? Few people actually do, but all voters have the ability to both question and change the amount of money being spent by their local town and school officials through the budgeting process, Town Meetings and School District Meetings. “To sit back ...

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 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 MCDOWELL With gas prices flirting with the $4 mark, it’s a wonder people are sticking to their summer vacation plans. But for the most part they will, according to the American Automobile Association. They’ll just be more frugal. While AAA has not released official summer travel projections yet this year other than ...

BY JENN McDOWELLAfter the Bow Dispatch Center increased its fees for the four other towns it covers, Allenstown, Epsom and Pembroke are faced with payments that more than double the prior year’s payments for Bow’s services. Despite having to bite the bullet on the fee spike, law enforcement officials from all three towns say the ...

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 ...

BY JENN McDOWELLTo combat drunk driving around the holidays, local police departments created extra shifts and paid out some overtime for more manpower during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The police departments in Allenstown, Pembroke and Epsom are part of a task force with Chichester and Bow police as well as the Merrimack County ...