A Keene school board panel making changes and clarifications to district policy delves into a couple of items of note tonight (Tuesday). The ad-hoc Policy Committee leads off with an issue that may be needed soon: staff reduction. The policy prioritizes staff for the event of a district downsizing ... something which could be pending sooner than later, barring voter restoration of 550-thousand-dollars the board cut from the proposed budget earlier this month.
The Ad-Hoc committee also tackles the somewhat thorny question of parental curriculum control Tuesday evening. A proposed policy is in response to the state law, enacted by override of Governor John Lynch's veto late last year, by which parents can pull a student out of any course the parent deems objectionable, with suitable alternate course work to be determined and paid for by the parent. In the proposed policy, parents must notify the school principal in writing of any objections; the two sides would then have to determine alternate material sufficient to satisfy state requirements for the course of study.
Two men arrested over the weekend in connection with a series of recent burglaries in the eastern reaches of the Monadnock Region made initial District Court appearances in Jaffrey on Monday. Police arrested Scott Lefebvre and Thomas Bragdon of Manchester Friday night as they apparently were casing a potential target home in Greenfield. The two are suspects in at least a half-dozen residential burglaries recently, and may be linked to others beyond those. Lefebvre is held in lieu of $100,000 dollars bond; Bragdon on $10,000 cash bond. Additional charges could be forthcoming out of the ongoing investigation.
Manchester Police have a fourth suspect in custody for a credit union robbery as well as a connection between that holdup and a big jewelry store heist in Tilton. Scott Perreault of Laconia surrendered to police Sunday and was arraigned Monday in the Northeast Credit Union robbery last month. Police also announced they have arrest warrants for two other women in connection with gathering information about the credit union. Katie Falls of Meredith, is already in jail, accused of driving three robbers to Kay Jewelers in Tilton where 200-thousand dollars' worth of jewelry was taken.
A pilot from Hillsborough is indicted in connection with a plane crash a year ago which killed his daughter. Prosecutors say Steven Fay wasn't qualified to fly a twin-engine plane without an instructor on board, and his lack of training and expertise resulted in the plane crashing upside down while landing in Massachusetts. His daughter, Jessica Malin died in the crash. Fay will be arraigned Wednesday in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Classes are expected to re-open today at Newmarket Junior and Senior High School, after being closed Friday and Monday for safety inspections. The concern was over the ceiling, and the possibility it could collapse. Nine classrooms and a hallway were closed a week after three other classrooms were closed, when it was discovered the drop ceiling, anchored into older plaster, but pulling apart from the rest of the structure and no longer meeting fire codes. The superintendent says over the next few days he'll learn more about what repairs are needed.
Fish and Game Department officers are warning ice fishermen about several bobhouses, or ice fishing shacks, being broken into and gear stolen. Investigators say those on Lake Winnipesaukee in Tuftonboro and Loon Lake in Freedom have been hit, with all sorts of gear taken. One conservation officer says in several of the cases, the fishing gear had sentimental value because it had been passed down in the family for many years. Fishermen are being warned to take anything valuable with them when they leave, and to report if they see suspicious activity.
The popular chain grocery store "Trader Joe's" is coming to the Seacoast region. Officials for the chain announced Monday they're opening a new 14,700 foot store at The Crossings at Fox Run in Newington later this year. It offers high quality imported and domestic food and beverages, as well as beer and wine. The chain's website indicates another store is slated for Nashua.
In Vermont, Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark is venting over the closure of the Vermont State Psychiatric Hospital, and the burden the freedom of patients is putting on his and other Vermont law enforcement agencies. The hospital was ruined by the Tropical Storm Irene floods, and Governor Peter Shumlin has vowed not to reopen it. But Clark says those now-unsupervised patients are taking their toll, citing one holiday-season case where a mental patient was sent to Brattleboro, only to find no room at the Brattleboro Retreat. That, in turn, led to four days spent at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital under 24-hour sheriff's-deputy guard.
Central Vermont Public Service is looking for customers who want electricity via cow power. CVPS recently bought its tenth farm, with generators turning manure into electricity. The farmers use the power, with any excess going onto the grid and the cost recouped by CVPS. The cow power is more expensive at current production levels. But 3,300 environmentally conscious consumers voluntarily pay the higher bills, and CVPS is looking for more.
A teenage driver did not break any laws when his car crashed last Friday, killing one of his passengers. Neither the 17-year-old driver nor his 15-year-old sister was hurt, but 16-year-old Zeke Kassel was killed. Police say the car was wedged between two others on Shelburne Falls last Friday, and was driving the speed limit on the icy road. The two survivors were wearing seatbelts, but it's not known yet if Kassel was.
The Massachusetts State Lottery has ended its embattled Cash WinFall game, months after an investigation as to why a select group of bettors was winning the majority of prizes. State Treasurer Steven Grossman had asked for a review of the Cash WinFall game to find out how a single group of bettors was able to manipulate a multimillion-dollar drawing, winning nearly all of the prize money. Officially, Cash Winfall is being replaced in March by a new multi-state game in which grand prize winners receive winnings of a thousand dollars a day, for life.
