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 RYAN O’CONNORSitting at a youth hockey conference, watching what was likely to be another boring prerecorded training video, Kermit Brunelle sighed. On the screen, Don Lucia, coach of the national champion University of Minnesota ice hockey team, was giving a speech. “A lot of people think I have the best job in hockey, and I tell ...

BY JENN McDOWELLA Bedford police officer who lives in Hooksett and just got hired in December has resigned after being arrested and charged with operating under the influence after he rear-ended a couple on a motorcycle. Alejandro Jaime, 36, of Hooksett, was off duty and driving down Tarrytown Road just south of Hanover Street in Manchester on ...

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 STEPHEN BEALEMissed that big debate at the Town Council meeting? Or perhaps the Planning Board hearing where a developer explained what he is going to do in your neighborhood? Now you can watch those meetings and more – in fact, all of the town and school government meetings in Bedford – online at the Web site for the community ...

BY JENN McDOWELLCassie Hobbs of Auburn said she might have gone with other friends from Auburn Village to Derry for high school had she known the sports and art classes she loves at West High School would be struck from the school’s budget for her senior year. “I wouldn’t be in this district if it weren’t for these ...

BY GRETA CUYLERA major enrollment miscalculation on the part of Manchester schools means the city is asking Hooksett for nearly $250,000 more in high school tuition costs for the 2007-08 school year. And that means most of the projects Hooksett planned for improving local schools will be put on the back burner. “We sort of got hit with ...