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 CHRISTINE HEISER Elsie Talanian, longtime Salem Observer employee and town icon, is retiring. One of the most familiar faces in town, Elsie, 88, cites health reasons for stepping down from her position, which she’s held for 42 years. She’s known to readers for her column, “A Chat With Elsie,” a folksy ...

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 McDOWELL School officials for Salem, Pelham and Windham schools are breathing a sigh of relief now that the state has agreed to extend the deadline for instituting public kindergarten. In its definition of an adequate education, the state Legislature included public kindergarten as a requirement. Since then, 12 ...

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 Alice Campbell of Salem, retired and living alone in her home, said she’s not sure how she’s going to deal with heating oil expenses that add up to even more than what she paid last winter, which was about $2,000 total for her small cape home. “As it is now, I shut off my dining room completely ...

BY JENN McDOWELL The Windham School District moderator will select several residents to join two School Board members to study withdrawing from School Administrative Unit 28. Currently Windham shares SAU 28 with Pelham, but the addition of the new Windham High School could prove too much for the current school administration staff to ...

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 ...