Category: Quality Of Life

An omen for 2026?

As reported by WMUR in a Dec. 28 online article, a fireball in the sky was reported by witnesses in Portsmouth, Nashua and Londonderry on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 27. “There were several other reports made to the American Meteor Society from New Hampshire communities, including Dover, Bedford, Rindge, Hooksett and Jaffrey,” the story read. “Fireballs are meteors that are unusually bright,” the article said. “It’s unlikely that the fireball reached the ground, as most meteors are destroyed high in the atmosphere.”

QOL score: +1 because cool, probably harmless thing in the sky

Comment: View footage of the fireball at youtube.com/shorts/UOwPvE1V6rg.

New laws

Several new state laws go into effect in January, including the much-discussed end of motor vehicle inspections, which will take effect Jan. 31. A Jan. 5 article at New Hampshire Bulletin (newhampshirebulletin.com) noted several other new laws that start this month, including a ban on ambulance “surprise billing” and a requirement that landlords allow non-electronic payment for rent. In addition, some state fees are increasing; it will now cost $11 instead of $6 to register a tractor, for instance. And as of Jan. 1, the article said, “it will be illegal to dump yard waste into any state body of water, on the ice of such water, or on the banks of the water.” It was already illegal to dump many other non-yard waste items in those places.

QOL score: -1, for having to remember new things

Comment: For a more comprehensive list of new laws going into effect, visit newsfromthestates.com/state/new-hampshire.

More flu cases

“As flu cases skyrocket across the country, New Hampshire health officials say cases are also rapidly rising in the Granite State,” a Dec. 30 online report from WMUR read. “Health experts say they expect flu numbers to keep rising,” the WMUR article warned, “because of holiday gatherings and cold weather forcing people inside.” A map provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov) titled “Flu activity levels by state for the week ending December 27” listed New Hampshire’s activity as “Very High.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: Health officials recommend getting vaccinated against the flu to protect against serious illness, the article said.

QOL score: 53

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 52

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Lights on, let’s play

Installation has begun on lights at the athletic field at Keach Park in Concord, according to a Dec. 24 Concord Monitor article. The lights will cover a youth-sized field, the story said, and will be ready for nighttime use sometime in May or June 2026; this will make Keach the only lighted field in Concord other than Memorial Field.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Local advocacy group Change for Concord lobbied for years for the lights and had wanted a larger area to be lighted, according to the article, which quoted city Parks & Rec Director David Gill as saying that the current plan will not illuminate abutting houses much.

Thousands of crows

In a Dec. 22 article, Manchester InkLink reported that a recent survey “counted 7,800 crows passing over the Amoskeag Fishways [in Manchester] on their way to their night roost.” Using a thermal imaging drone, New Hampshire naturalist Mark Timmerman and photographer Craig Gibson, who has conducted similar studies on the crow population in Lawrence, Mass., hope to document the Millyard’s crow population.

QOL score: +1

Comment: While Manchester’s crow population is smaller than Lawrence’s, the birds’ environments are extremely similar. Both have large, brick, mill buildings on the Merrimack River. Gibson expects both populations to be made up of the same species, American Crows, with a smaller number of Fish Crows, according to the article.

Parading down Main Street 100 years ago

On Dec. 22, the Concord Public Library posted a press release on the City of Concord’s website (concordnh.gov) reminding the public that one of the Library’s many resources is a digital collection of historic Concord photographs, including of President Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to Concord on Aug. 28, 1902; the Concord High School Girls Basketball Team in 1920, and dozens of parade photos. Visit concordnhlibrary.omeka.net, where you can also find a wealth of other Concord historical resources.

QOL score: +1

Comment: This is another reminder that local libraries do much more than lend books. See the Oct. 2 issue of The Hippo, “29 Reasons to love your library,” which is available online. Visit hippopress.com.

QOL score to start 2026: 50

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 53

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

We know how to holiday

According to a recent study by health and wellness website Innerbody.com, New Hampshire is one of the most festive states in the U.S. The study examined Christmas-related online searches of topics including the sales of advent calendars, inflatable lawn decorations and festive holiday clothing. “New Hampshire has risen to 9th place in the rankings, up from 10th last year,” read a Dec. 16 press release from Innerbody, “suggesting an increase in its Christmas spirit.” This contrasts with its neighbors, Vermont and Maine, which rank among the states with the lowest (or “Grinchiest”) Christmas cheer.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The study ranked West Virginia as the most festive, and the District of Columbia as the least festive. Visit innerbody.com/most-festive-state.

Girl Scouts convert bags to benches

A Mont Vernon Girl Scout troop has collected enough semi-firm plastic bags — the type you get groceries in — to be recycled into a park bench. Girl Scout Troop 59205 is a group of four cadets in seventh grade, led by Scout Leader Bobbi Billow. When the project began, the troop had 13 members who all contributed to the project for a full year and helped reach the 1,000-pound milestone. “Month after month, the residents of Mont Vernon came together and averaged 100 pounds of plastic recycled per month,” Billow posted on Facebook on Dec. 1, “an incredible achievement for a small town with a big heart.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to a Dec. 15 press release from Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, Troop 59205 will donate their bench to the Mont Vernon Conservation Commission to be placed at Carleton Pond. This project was taken on as part of a challenge by Trex Recycling. Visit nextrex.com/view/programs.

New Hampshire and the Peace Corps

In a Dec. 15 press release, the Peace Corps (peacecorps.gov) announced its 2025 rankings of the top volunteer-producing states across the United States with New Hampshire ranked No. 3 among states with the highest number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita. According to the press release there are currently 36 New Hampshire residents serving worldwide. “In 2025, the nation’s capital is the largest producer of volunteers per capita with 31 volunteers, more than 4 volunteers per 100,000 citizens. Vermont took the No. 2 spot for per capita production, with 24 volunteers.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Volunteers in the Peace Corps travel to other countries to donate their time and expertise. The Peace Corps aims “to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served” and “to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans,” according to its website.

QOL score: 79

Net change: +3

QOL for the end of 2025: 82

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Nobody legit asks for gift cards

The email seems authentic at first glance. It says it’s from the Director of the Allenstown Public Library. She’s writing to ask you for some technology help. She’s trying to buy some gift cards for her niece with cancer, the email tells you, and for whatever reason, she can’t seem to finalize the purchase. Could you do it for her and she’ll pay you back? Maybe you should call her for clarification. The problem is, it turns out, the Allenstown Library doesn’t even have a Director at the moment. “We’ve spent the last two days fielding phone calls about this,” one of the librarians on duty said in a phone interview.

QOL score: -1

Comment: On its website, the New Hampshire Department of Justice advises: “Use known and trusted contact information to reach out to the individual and confirm that they are not responsible for the suspicious request. Assume that any request to purchase gift cards is a scam. This is a tactic that is widely used by scammers.” Visit doj.nh.gov/news-and-media.

Make friends now or be lonely and sick later

A recent study by the University of New Hampshire suggests that building social connections earlier in life can help prevent isolation and its associated health problems in old age. According to a Dec. 4 press release from UNH, “The study found that older adults without children are more vulnerable to loneliness, but good friends helped fill that void. The researchers said the study was partially motivated by current demographic shifts like declining fertility rates and the growing number of people without children living longer.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Research into loneliness is important on multiple fronts,” the press release read,”including informing social programming that could help older adults. That is especially relevant in a state like New Hampshire, which has one of the oldest demographics.” Visit unh.edu/unhtoday/news.

QOL score: 79

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 79

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

A slice with oats?

According to a Dec. 4 statement by the Bedford Police Department (bedfordnhpd.org), “On Wednesday, Dec. 3, at approximately 1 a.m., Bedford Police responded to the area near Domino’s Pizza just off of Route 1 for reports of a horse that was seen walking around,” the report read. “Officers were able to quickly determine where the horse lived. Officer Jeff Drew personally walked the horse back to her residence, more than a mile away, in 20-degree weather.”

QOL score: +1 For Bedford’s successful effort to rein in crime

Comment: “Residents provided officers with hay, grain, water, and a horse lead rope until she could be safely returned, the report read.” Which raises the question: Did late-night customers happen to have those supplies with them, or did the police wake up nearby horse people?

Yay for Creepy Santa!

For Manchester residents, the holiday season hasn’t really started until Creepy Santa makes his appearance. As reported by Manchester InkLink in a Dec. 3 article, “For 35 years, the beloved iconic holiday figure has towered over the Rheume family’s Christmas tree stand on Elm Street.” The large fiberglass figure is locally famous for the disturbing expression on its face. According to the InkLink article, “On Wednesday night, Creepy Santa got his own day on the city calendar when Mayor Jay Ruais read an official Resolution declaring Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) forever more to be known as Creepy Santa Day in the city of Manchester.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “The Creepy Santa figure was purchased by Reggie Rheaume when he started his business— it was one of only eight made in the U.S.,” the article said.

A milestone for Manchester scouting

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, Goffstown resident Zoie Hall broke new ground by becoming the first female Eagle Scout in the 55-year history of her scout troop, Troop 106 in Manchester, according to a Troop 106 press release. Only about 4 percent of Scouts attain the rank of Eagle Scout, the release said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “For her required community service project, she portrayed leadership and organization skills in renovating the function hall at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Manchester. She also reached out to local businesses for donations and to organize eight separate fundraisers to earn over $6000 needed to fund her Eagle project,” the release said.

Thirsty trees

According to a Dec. 2 online article by New Hampshire Public Radio, this year’s lack of rainfall has affected this season’s crop of Christmas trees, but not as much as you might expect. “Experts say when the drought intensified in late summer this year, evergreens were generally in a better spot than other trees,” the NHPR story read.

QOL score: -1 for this year, but stay tuned for future tree shortages

Comment: The full effects of this year’s drought might not be felt for several years. NHPR quoted Steve Roberge, the state forester for the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. “[Droughts] are just tough on newly planted trees,” he said. “And so there may be a lot of mortality that we see in Christmas trees planted this year.”

QOL score: 77

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 79

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Early skiing

As reported by WMUR in a Nov. 22 online article, several New Hampshire mountains opened for skiing before Thanksgiving, a full week earlier than usual. The article quoted Jennifer Karan of Cannon Mountain saying, “2019 was the last time we opened this early, so we are pretty excited. We got quite a bit of natural snow in the last week or so, a foot and a half last week.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: As of Dec. 1 five New Hampshire ski areas were open for business: Black Mountain, Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain, Loon Mountain and Waterville Valley. For up-to-the-minute information on which resorts are open, visit skinh.com.

Howl be home for Christmas

According to a Nov. 23 online article by WMUR, “A Nottingham family is finally resting easy after their 4-year-old dog, Comet, was found nearly a month after going missing.” When Comet, named for one of Santa’s reindeer, disappeared from his family’s yard, “The family immediately launched a search, making a concerted effort to spread the word about Comet. … On Nov. 17, after nearly a month, the family got a call from Granite State Dog Recovery, saying they were able to capture Comet in a dog-friendly cage after following one of the community sighting tips.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Clearly, life on the road was rough for Comet. According to the WMUR story, “Comet was rushed to the hospital, weighing just 32 pounds, less than half his original weight. He also had porcupine quills in his shoulder, causing him to limp.”

9-1-1 Herbivore Division

The Pelham Police Department performed an unusual rescue Friday, Nov. 28, when it helped a trapped deer escape from a mud pit. “We received a call about a ‘rein’ deer that had gotten itself stuck knee-deep in mud and couldn’t break free,” the Department posted on its Facebook page. “With the temperatures near freezing and the situation getting worse by the minute, our officers jumped into action. After a careful (and very muddy) effort, the deer was safely pulled out and sent on its way — hopefully to finish up whatever important Christmas duties it had going on.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Find out more about the winter life of deer at wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/species-occurring-nh/white-tailed-deer.

Hockey player pulls a hat trick

New Hampshire hockey player Tara Mounsey “laced up for the first ever Olympic women’s hockey gold medal game in Nagano, Japan,” reported WMUR in a Nov. 26 online article. “Her 1998 Olympic team was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.” Last year, as the medical coordinator for the Boston Celtics, she got a ring when the team won the championship. Now she is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on her own. WMUR reported Mounsey’s reaction to learning the news. “I kept driving, but I felt like I needed to stop the car, I was so caught off guard,” she said. “I really had to sit with it and realize it was real and how big of an honor it is.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Mounsey’s induction ceremony will take place on Dec. 10 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Visit hhof.com/induction/induction.html.

QOL score: 73

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 77

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.