Category: News

Fentanyl legislation

Sen. Maggie Hassan has helped to introduce a new bipartisan bill created to combat the fentanyl epidemic. According to a press release from the Senator’s office, “Bruce’s Law,” led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, will support federal prevention and education efforts surrounding fentanyl, authorizing new community-based coalition enhancement grants to educate young people about the dangers of fentanyl, and giving drug-free communities coalitions access to additional funds to bolster their efforts to end deadly fentanyl use. “I am proud to cosponsor bipartisan legislation like Bruce’s Law to continue addressing the substance misuse crisis and pushing for necessary resources,” Sen. Hassan said in the release. The law is named afterRobert “Bruce” Snodgrass, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021 at the age of 22. “Bruce’s story echoes that of many Granite Staters whose families and communities continue to be devastated by fentanyl and the substance misuse crisis,” Hassan said. “This is an issue that should be approached from all angles to prevent more lives lost, which is why we provide educational grants in this bipartisan bill to increase awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.”

A boost for child care

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services will issue an additional $6 million to child care providers who qualified to receive American Rescue Plan Stabilization funds in the fall of 2021. According to a press release from DHHS, 486 child care programs are set to receive a sum, based on their licensed capacity, which could amount to up to $165 per child. Programs are encouraged to use the funds for staffing and occupancy costs, and about 75 percent of them have indicated that they plan to do so, the release said. New Hampshire has distributed more than $100 million in aid to child care providers throughout the state since the spring of 2020.

Better internet access

New Hampshire has been announced as the first state in the country to receive approval for a broadband expansion plan utilizing funds from the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. According to a press release from the office of Gov. Chris Sununu, the $50 million plan will improve access to reliable broadband in unserved and underserved parts of the state. New Hampshire had dedicated $13 million in short-term CARES Act Funds to broadband expansion in 2020, which benefited more than 4,500 households throughout the state, “well before the federal government even created a program to do so themselves,” Gov. Sununu said in a statement on June 7, when the news was announced. “Today’s announcement is another step forward as New Hampshire continues to serve as a leader in expanding broadband services.” New Hampshire’s Statewide Broadband Build Program will select local internet service providers for the expanded areas, working with broadband networks that are owned, operated by or affiliated with local governments, nonprofits and cooperatives as much as possible. It is expected to serve around 15,000 rural and remote residences and businesses, which represents approximately half of the locations that are currently in need of access to high-speed internet, the release said.

Covid vaccines for children

The first batch of Covid vaccinations approved for infants and young children could arrive in New Hampshire as soon as June 20, the New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services announced in an official health alert. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines will be available to children ages 6 months through 4 years, and Moderna vaccines will be available to children ages 6 months through 5 years. NHPR reported that the state is expected to receive 12,200 doses in the first order, split evenly between Pfizer and Moderna, which will be distributed to local hospitals, health centers, doctor’s offices and other health care providers, while pharmacy chains that administer the vaccine will be issued doses directly from the federal government. The children’s vaccinations come 18 months after the first adults in the state became eligible for vaccination in December 2020.

A new traffic pattern is being implemented on Route 101 in Bedford as part of the red-listed bridge replacement at Pulpit Brook, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced. Daytime paving work was scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 14, through Thursday, June 16, weather permitting, to create a temporary traffic diversion. The diversion will require one-way alternating traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will remain in use until the Fall.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig will join Queen City Pride on Friday, June 17, at noon, at Manchester City Hall (1 City Hall Plaza) for the Pride Flag Raising, according to the Mayor’s public schedule.

The Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough will present a tribute to local educator Tim Clark on Saturday, June 18, at 11 a.m. Clark died shortly before the publication of his book Beginning Educator: Navigating A Second Career In Teaching, which features a collection of twice-monthly columns he had been writing for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Clark’s wife, May Clark, and Jason Lambert, both of whom are also teachers, will read selected columns and remember Tim Clark’s life. Call 924-3543 or visit toadbooks.com.

Students march

Students from Nashua North and South high schools will join hundreds of student groups across the country in the March for Our Lives protest, a nationwide event planned for Saturday, June 11, in response to the recent string of shootings throughout the U.S., to raise awareness about gun violence and advocate for gun control legislation. According to a press release from the organizers, the peaceful protest will take place in downtown Nashua, starting at 1 p.m., at The Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The students will then march to Greeley Park, where local high school students and Rep. Laura Telerski will speak about their experiences and opinions surrounding gun violence and gun legislation, starting at 1:45 p.m. March for Our Lives is a national student-led movement formed in 2018 in support of stricter gun control laws following a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. See “March For Our Lives Protest in Nashua” on Facebook for updates on the local effort.

Racing history

What was previously known as the North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon has been officially renamed the New England Racing Museum as of June 2, according to a press release from the Racing History Preservation Group, the nonprofit that owns the institution. The 10,000-square-foot museum features race cars, motorcycles, photographs, artifacts, books, racing helmets, trophies and racing uniforms from throughout the history of motor racing in the New England region. The reason for the name change, the press release said, is to more accurately reflect the museum’s focus, which has become more specific to the six New England states than to the larger Northeast, and to racing than to the broader realm of motor sports, than the museum’s board of directors had originally anticipated when plans for the museum were first drafted more than 12 years ago and when the museum opened its doors in 2017. “You tell me we’re going to see motor sports and I’m not interested,” museum trustee Mike Smeriglio said in the press release in regard to the name change. “If you want to go see racing, I’m on board.” The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer, Saturdays during the winter, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with expanded days and hours when there are racing events at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Admission costs $10 and is free for children under age 12. Visit nemsmuseum.com.

Space news

The University of New Hampshire has been selected as one of 14 universities in the U.S. to receive a portion of more than $10.4 million in funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, WMUR reported. The funds are to be used for research and special projects being conducted at the universities in partnership with NASA. In February, UNH announced that a group of researchers and engineers from the university’s Space Science Center had been recruited by NASA to study particles streaming to Earth from the edges of interstellar space as part of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission, expected to launch in 2024. According to the UNH website, the mission will further understanding of the heliosphere and how the sun impacts the atmospheric space surrounding the Earth, which may ultimately help to provide better protection for astronauts and satellite technology.

The cane tradition

The Warner Selectmen will award long-time Warnerresident Phil Lord the Boston Post Cane at the United Church of Warner on Saturday, June 25. The tradition was introduced in 1909, when the now defunct Boston Post newspaper presented gold-headed walking canes to many New England towns to award to their oldest residents. Lord, who celebrated his 96th birthday on Feb. 4, will be the 32nd recipient of Warner’s cane. According to a press release from the Warner Historical Society, Warner is one of the last communities to still have its cane and continue the tradition. The cane will be preserved at the Warner Historical Society after the ceremony. The event runs from 2 to 4 p.m., with the main presentation at 2:45 p.m., and is free and open to the public. Visit warnerhistorical.org.

Deceased New Hampshire residents who served in the National Guard or as reservists during their lifetime can now be buried in the New Hampshire Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. According to NHPR, the cemetery previously only accepted burials for New Hampshire residents who had served on active duty as members of the military. The Executive Council voted unanimously for the change in policy.

Those grieving the loss of a loved one will no longer have to worry about paying road tolls in New Hampshire when they are part of a funeral procession. Gov. Chris Sununu signed the new executive order on June 6 which states that if the lead car in a funeral procession stops at a toll booth and informs the attendant of how many of the following vehicles are in the procession, the attendant will allow those vehicles to pass without having to stop or pay, according to a press release from the Governor’s office in Concord.

The Merrimack Rotary Club is holding an Electronics Reycling Fundraiser on Saturday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to noon at Merrimack Town Hall (6 Baboosic Lake Road in Merrimack), according to a press release. Drive by and pay a donation fee to drop off telephones, cables, video games, speakers, radios, computers, televisions and air conditioners, the release said. See merrimackrotary.org.