Author: NH Business Review Staff

Making it happen

Brochures are floating around town bearing a basket of vegetables and the mantra, “Make it Happen!” Before confusion prevents linking vegetables with making things happen, the words “Hollis Community Farm” catch the eye and it begins to make sense. You…

Mediation – and then some

City officials will take the oath of office on Sunday, Jan. 4, marking the 102nd inauguration of city government in Nashua. The public is invited to watch the Election Day victors be sworn into office. No invitations are needed. The…

Soothing pain and fear

ene Rousseau was ready to call it quits in July. The 61-year-old considers himself good at withstanding pain, but enough was enough. The Milford resident was receiving up to six shots of morphine a day to cope with the pain…

A celebration of unity, creativity and faith

NASHUA - If Kwanzaa means taking time for family, culture and community, then a local party marking the seven-day celebration exceeded that goal. About 60 people gathered Saturday and converted the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua function hall…

City set to swear in new leaders

City officials will take the oath of office on Sunday, Jan. 4, marking the 102nd inauguration of city government in Nashua. The public is invited to watch the Election Day victors be sworn into office. No invitations are needed. The…

A Pup’s Love

Rene Rousseau was ready to call it quits in July. The 61-year-old considers himself good at withstanding pain, but enough was enough. The Milford resident was receiving up to six shots of morphine a day to cope with the pain…

Breaking the ice

AAs a 10-year-old, Lisa Langley used to commute all the way from her Manchester home to Boston to skate with the likes of Paul Wylie and Nancy Kerrigan. Now 37, Langley is teaching local children and adults a range of…

Resident gives Hudson $5,000 for open space

HUDSON - The town’s efforts to boost open space got an extra boost this week. Resident Jean Serino presented the town with an early Christmas present Tuesday night. She addressed the Board of Selectmen during public remarks, noting upon world…

Breaking the ice

As a 10-year-old, Lisa Langley used to commute all the way from her Manchester home to Boston to skate with the likes of Paul Wylie and Nancy Kerrigan. Now 37, Langley is teaching local children and adults a range of…

City files brief of support for rail station

NASHUA - The city has filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the New Hampshire Supreme Court, arguing the use of state gas tax money for the proposed commuter rail project is consistent with the state constitution. Corporation Counsel David Connell wrote…

A home for the holidays

NASHUA - This definitely was a Christmas they won’t forget. There’s a Christmas tree in the corner with ornaments and a red tree skirt. When a reporter dropped by Wednesday, Dawn Marrotte was wrapping presents in a room with the…

City contract includes snow removal plan

NASHUA - A plan to mobilize a large contingent of plow drivers during snowstorms is included in the new contract between City Hall and the drivers who push the stuff out of the way. Members of the American Federation of…

Group examines preserving open space in town

MONT VERNON - A recently formed Open Space Committee will soon start investigating what the town has for open space and different ways it could buy and preserve the best parcels. The group’s findings will be presented to voters at…

Selectman named to pharmacy board

HOLLIS - Gov. Craig Benson recently appointed pharmacist and Board of Selectmen member Vahrij Manoukian to the six-member New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy. “I was honored. Are you kidding me?” Manoukian said. In the background, he was juggling conversations about…

Fire in bedroom damages Bedford house

BEDFORD - A family was temporarily homeless after a first-alarm fire Christmas night. About 15 firefighters responded to a home at 27 Shaw Drive after someone from the home reported a bedroom fire by calling 911 at about 9:15 p.m.…

Chief Justice Brock’s legacy: complicated and influential

Russ Hilliard, president of the New Hampshire Bar Association, will always remember something he heard years ago from Chief Justice David A. Brock, when Hilliard was arguing a case before the state’s Supreme Court. The case involved eminent domain proceedings,…

‘Next logical step’: an on-line incubator

The New Hampshire Virtual Business Incubator -- a first-of-its-kind on-line effort that provides information and support to new businesses -- has been launched with the goal of expanding to become a national resource. Not surprisingly, the thinking behind the incubator…

N.H. economy brings good, and not-so-good, news

Tyson Foods Inc. has announced plans to shut down its Manchester facility, eliminating another 550 jobs from New Hampshire’s manufacturing base. Who cares? Unemployment is going down. Of course, the state’s economy can absorb the job loss, but it is…

2 bus plans, 1 decision for board

Bus start proposals MERRIMACK - Like Shakespeare’s famed Prince of Denmark, school officials in the next few months face a great philosophical question: 2B, or not 2B. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of…

Board opposes change that cuts aid

MERRIMACK - It’s bad enough to think the School District stands to receive $2.5 million less in state aid to education next year. What makes school officials shudder is the thought that under a constitutional amendment favored by some lawmakers…

Woods near city pond memorialize late Hugh Gregg

NASHUA - A beloved native son who went on to become an alderman, mayor and governor is now memorialized near where he and his wife raised their family in a rural corner of the city. The woods around Lovewell’s Pond…

2 on board won’t seek re-election

HUDSON - With the election months away, two longtime selectmen announced Tuesday night that they will not be seeking re-election. Selectmen Shawn Jasper and Ann Seabury both said during the board’s meeting that they will not run for another term.…

Holiday Closings

Here is a summary of what is closed Thursday in observance of Christmas Day: STATE OFFICES: Closed. MUNICIPAL OFFICES: Closed. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Closed. FEDERAL OFFICES: Closed. POST OFFICE: Closed; Express Mail delivery accepted. BANKS: Closed. PUBLIC LIBRARIES: Closed. STOCK MARKET:…

Retiring area schools chief wins honor

Ken DeBenedictis will be doing what many people wish basketball player Michael Jordan had done. He’s ending his career on a high note. DeBenedictis, who plans to retire from his position as superintendent of the three Hollis and Brookline districts…

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS

Here is a summary of what will be closed Thursday in observance of Christmas: STATE OFFICES: Closed. MUNICIPAL OFFICES: Closed. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Closed. FEDERAL OFFICES: Closed. POST OFFICES: Closed; Express Mail delivery accepted. BANKS: Closed. PUBLIC LIBRARIES: Closed. STOCK MARKET:…

Tank put in at Superfund site

MILFORD - Fourteen years into the process of cleaning up the Fletcher’s Superfund site, the program has its most visible marker since the old paint factory was torn down: A 6,000-gallon tank for holding dirty water. Subcontractors hired by Syracuse,…

School budget proposal gets OK

MERRIMACK - Driven by rising health insurance benefits and costs related to opening a new school, the proposed school district operating budget for next year is up 9.87 percent. The School Board on Monday voted 5-0 to accept a proposed…

Board OKs buying development rights

HOLLIS - An “underground movement” is one step closer to becoming a reality in town, thanks to a stamp of approval from the Board of Selectmen on Monday night. The “underground movement” in question - growing organic produce at a…

Art show at Borders a colorful delight

NASHUA - Paintings of delicate orchids, New York City views, colorful medieval ladies posing demurely, a stately Victorian home, delectable apples in a still life, a color-infused, sunlit window adorned with three vases. These are some of the many poignant…

State aid affects city budget preparation

NASHUA - Top elected Republicans in the city have split ways over the state’s funding of education. Mayor Bernie Streeter said Sen. Jane O’Hearn is not representing the interests of city residents during the education funding debate. “We’re going to…

Families need help while Guard in Iraq

HOW TO HELP MILFORD - With some 500 National Guard soldiers in southern New Hampshire shipping out for 18 months right after the holidays, a lot of area families are facing big changes. Fortunately, a lot of people are ready…

Town to receive new fire engine

Mont Vernon New pumper truck made possible by grant. MONT VERNON - The federal government gave Mont Vernon an early Christmas present last week: $182,700 to buy a new pumper truck. The grant, awarded by the Department of Homeland Security,…

Chandler to be area historical resource

NASHUA - Residents using the city’s library system to look for local historical facts and figures or to search out their family ancestry will soon be pulling up to a table at the Chandler Memorial Library at 257 Main St.…

School roof will get a temporary fix

MONT VERNON - During a two-hour emergency meeting Saturday morning, the School Board voted unanimously to approve spending about $15,000 of town money to temporarily fix the leaky roof that has shut down Mont Vernon Village School since Tuesday. Several…

Mayor says Pennichuck seeking other buyers

Is Pennichuck Corp. looking to sell the company out from under Nashua’s effort to take it over? That depends on whom you ask. Mayor Bernie Streeter says yes. “It’s no secret they are at this point . . . seeking…

Dairy farm listed in state Register of Historic Places

WILTON - Four Corners Farm on Isaac Frye Highway, one of the oldest farms in town, has been listed in the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. Early last spring, the farm was awarded a $250,000 Land and Community…

Preserving Four Corners

WILTON - Negotiations are under way to preserve a portion of the Four Corners Farm on Abbot Hill Road and to ensure the continuing operations of the Wilton-Temple Community Farm, which has leased the site for eight years. Mike Andrews,…

Snowboarders help industry grow

FRANCESTOWN - If you want to know why so many people are so excited about the reopening of Crotched Mountain Ski Area, consider two numbers from the National Ski Area Association. The first is 490. That’s how many ski areas…

Upward slope

BENNINGTON - Ski fans always get a little impatient waiting for a favorite mountain to reopen for the season, but Steve McClallen of Nashua has more reason than most to be impatient: He’s been waiting 13 winters. “I was so…

Social service agencies get $1.4 million in federal grants

NASHUA - Four local social service agencies that help the homeless were awarded a total of more than $1.4 million in grants Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds will help support programs that offer…

Planning commission director to leave

NASHUA - After six years leading the Nashua Regional Planning Commission, Andrew Singelakis is leaving to take a planning position in Tucson, Ariz. Singelakis will be the deputy director of planning for the desert community starting in February. His last…

Lyndeborough Main Street ‘institution’ dies

LYNDEBOROUGH - Evelyn Harwood rarely, if ever, missed a meeting of importance to the town or the school. She did not speak very often, but when she did, everyone stopped to listen. “She waited until she had something important to…

Mont Vernon School Board to discuss roof leaks

MONT VERNON - The Mont Vernon School Board will hold a special session this morning to discuss how to cope with roof leaks that closed the school most of the week. Around a dozen leaks occurred in the building, including…

N.H. unions grumble over Red Sox deal

New Englanders will have more than unkind words for the Major League Baseball Players Association should it squash the Red Sox’s attempt to trade for Texas Rangers’ shortstop Alex Rodriguez. Some of those angry gestures could come from leaders of…

Court mum on justice decision

CONCORD - A defiant Gov. Craig Benson said Friday that he will nominate the next chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court even after the same court acted to uphold a state law that took this power away from…

Students read to help less fortunate

WILTON - Last Christmas, the sixth-graders at Florence Rideout Elementary School held a read-athon and earned about $1,300 that they spent on toys for the town’s annual Christmas Store, which supplies gifts for the less fortunate. They had so much…

Bridge, road plans approved

WILTON - The Planning Board on Wednesday approved the relocation of a bridge across Stoney Brook and an access road to the stone crusher on the Pike Industries site off Route 31 North. The question has been under consideration since…

DPW chief Crombie to depart

NASHUA - Public Works Director George Crombie, who has been a lightning rod for both praise and criticism in his four years on the job, is stepping down next month. Crombie told Mayor Bernie Streeter Wednesday that he planned to…

Reunited

everal young women, carefully made up and dressed in fashionably casual clothing, stood together inside the packed athletic complex at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester on Thursday. They were part of a crowd of hundreds - mothers, fathers, brothers,…

Proposed $8.72m Hollis school budget facing review

HOLLIS - In the earliest stages of its review, the proposed Hollis school budget is about $107,000 higher than the Budget Committee wants it. School Board members presented the 2004-05 budget to the committee for the first time Thursday night.…