News

Forester-led walk of Windsor’s Paradise Park seeks to answer questions about management plan

By CHRISTINA DOLAN

WINDSOR — Windsor County Forester Hannah Dallas and her team began marking trees last month throughout Paradise Park Town Forest with paint as the first step in implementing a new resource management plan to improve the health of the forest.The plan...

Health insurance, salaries drive up Oxbow budget

By CHRISTINA DOLAN

BRADFORD, Vt. — Voters will consider whether to approve a $21 million school budget for the Oxbow Unified Union School District on Monday, May 6. The budget marks a nearly 14% increase over last year’s $18.4 million operating budget for the district,...

Colby-Sawyer names interim president

NEW LONDON — Colby-Sawyer College on Thursday named an interim president for the 2024-2025 academic year.Laura Sykes, a member of the 1998 graduating class, will be the first alumna of the New London school to hold its top leadership position. Sykes...

Sarah Copeland Hanzas launches bid for second term as secretary of state

By SARAH MEARHOFF

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas wants another two years in office.The Bradford Democrat announced her bid for reelection at a press conference Wednesday in the Statehouse. She was flanked by dozens of legislators who called her a...

Group launches fundraiser for Lyme covered bridge

LYME — The National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges has started a fundraiser to help pay for repairs to Lyme’s Edgell Covered Bridge.The nonprofit organization is seeking to raise around $150,000 to help offset the estimated $690,000...

Dartmouth moves swiftly to stymie demonstration, leads to 90 arrests

By FRANCES MIZE

HANOVER — Dartmouth College administrators acted swiftly on Wednesday night when faced with a protest encampment similar to those established on campuses around the country amid unrest over the Israel-Hamas war.At some colleges, demonstrations have...

Windsor County man pleads guilty to misdemeanor, preventing trial on sex assault charge

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A 27-year-old Windsor County man pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct shortly before he was scheduled to go on trial for a felony sexual charge dating back to 2018. Hunter Brock, 27, of South Royalton, pleaded...

Sharon voters to decide $9.5 million school building bond

By CHRISTINA DOLAN

SHARON — Voters will decide next Tuesday whether to approve a $9.5 million bond for repairs and renovations to Sharon Elementary School.The bond would address safety issues such as fire alarms and sprinklers, and bring the school into compliance with...

Dartmouth graduate student-workers go on strike

By FRANCES MIZE

HANOVER — Dartmouth College’s unionized graduate students marked International Workers’ Day by going on strike, leaving classrooms vacant of teaching assistants and research stations empty.“We’re going to be out here all day, every day until what?”...

Insurance, limited options still keep patients hospitalized longer than needed

By ANNMARIE TIMMINS

Patients who are medically cleared to be discharged from a hospital continue to stay much longer than they need to largely because they cannot get the ongoing specialized care they require, according to a new report from the New Hampshire Hospital...

NH House Republicans recommend eliminating most of anti-hunger bill

By ETHAN DEWITT

House Republican lawmakers are moving to strip out major portions of a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing child hunger, arguing they are costly and unnecessary, in a decision that drew sharp criticism from Democrats and advocates.The House Finance...

On the trail: NH Democrats quietly hold second presidential primary

By PAUL STEINHAUSER

The Democratic National Committee will welcome New Hampshire’s delegates to its nominating convention this summer in Chicago after the state party conducted a very small party-run presidential primary this weekend.An official vote bringing New...

Man tied to Lebanon school lockdowns pleads not guilty to charges

By JOHN LIPPMAN

LEBANON — A Vershire man has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from an incident that provoked a lockdown at Lebanon High School and Hanover Street School in March when he allegedly approached the school campus with loaded weapons in his...

Patch family offers public trails in pitch to end dispute over city rights of way

By PATRICK ADRIAN

LEBANON — A new proposal from the owners of Patch Orchards would create two public recreation trails across their property, if the city agrees to discontinue public access on other rights of way that the farm says interferes with its maple syrup...

Former office manager for Dartmouth student newspaper pleads guilty to embezzlement

By NORA DOYLE-BURR

CONCORD — A former office manager pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to embezzling $223,000 from a student-run newspaper at Dartmouth College, according to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.Nicole Chambers, 40, of...

Search underway for hiker in NH last seen two weeks ago

By DAVID BROOKS

Officials are looking for a Massachusetts man whose car has been parked at the Crawford Path parking lot for roughly two weeks, although they’re unsure whether he went hiking into the White Mountain National Forest.William Neal Donovan, 65, of...

Volunteers needed for June’s Quechee Balloon Festival

QUECHEE — The Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce needs volunteers to help out at the 44th annual Quechee Balloon Festival, which is scheduled to take place Father’s Day weekend in June.The festival begins Friday, June 14, and runs through Sunday, June...

Enfield wildlife management area parking lot to close temporarily

ENFIELD — The parking lot at Lower Shaker Wildlife Management Area off Route 4A will close for at least two months due to construction.Work is scheduled to begin Monday, according to a news release from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department,...

After Vermont Senate rejects Zoie Saunders, Phil Scott names her interim education secretary

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

After a lengthy and dramatic debate Tuesday morning, the Vermont Senate voted against the confirmation of Zoie Saunders as state education secretary — but the fight over her appointment appeared far from finished.Saunders needed a majority of the...