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 RYAN O’CONNORIt’s uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation both parties know must take place. As practice begins, Bill Walton, the John Stark wrestling coach, pulls Morgan Belanger aside. “You know if anything inappropriate happens, you have to tell me,” he says. Belanger nods. She’s had this talk before. ...

The New Hampshire Avalanche Squirt ’98 AAA team rolled through the Metro Boston Hockey League regular season, posting 35 wins without a loss. The postseason was no different. The top-seeded Avs, coached by Mike Potvin; his assistant coaches, Joe Silva, Mark Leach and Gary Saklad; and goaltender coches Bill McWhinnie and Bryan Ash, ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR He made the promise. His team delivered. Ernie Gauvin, manager of the Goffstown 10- and 11-year-old Little League all-star team, told fans to get to the District 1 title game early because his team would not wait to put runs on the board. Gauvin made the guarantee 11 days earlier, following his team’s 7-2 defeat of ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR Hooksett assistant coach Jim White said his team’s No. 1 priority is to improve each year as it faces similar foes in postseason all-star play. Last year, as 9- and 10-year-olds in the District 1 Little League all-star tournament, the team finished 3-2 and lost, 16-8, to Pelham. This year, in the 10- and ...

BY RYAN O'CONNOR It wasn’t Pelham’s week. Five days after losing in the winners bracket finale of the District 1 10- and 11-year-old Little League all-star tournament to Goffstown, 7-2, Pelham again fell, this time in the losers bracket final, to Hooksett, 10-2. Though Pelham threatened several times in both games, it ...