Tag: 251204

Quality of Life 25/12/04

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.

Big win for Ryan Day

The Big Story – Local Football Coaches: It was a great Day for Ohio State Football on Saturday as Ryan Day checked another box on his sparkling career resume when after four straight losses he finally got his first win vs. archrival Michigan with a 27-9 win.

On the other hand, his former OC Chip Kelly got fired by the Raiders.

Given that LV was 2-9 with chatter coming from both sides, it makes you wonder: was it the offense just not getting it done despite enough talent? Or did 74-year-old Pete Carroll need a scapegoat because he knew his coaching career could be over with a one-and-done in Vegas?

The good news is he’s still owed $12 million so he’ll be OK financially.

Sports 101: Name the first to kick a NFL field goal of 60+ yards.

News Item – Rafael Devers Trade Now Complete: The big concern about it just being a salary dump wasn’t true. Instead the Red Sox re-invested some of that big money in a trade with the Cardinals for starting pitcher Sonny Gray. Never been a big fan of his mainly because of how he shrunk from the pressure playing for the Yanks. But he did win 14 and 13 games for sub-.500 St. Louis and has averaged 175 innings the last three years. And they didn’t give up much in a 22-year-old with a mid-90s fastball and command issues (Brandon Clarke) and 2-4-with-Boston-last-year Richard Fitts.

News Item – Five Observations as NFL Enters December:

Last year Minnesota entered December 9-2 compared to 4-7 now. So did any team screw itself more than Minnesota did by letting QB Sam Darnold walk and going with J.J. McCarthy, who’d never taken an NFL snap?

It’s rare that a trade of high-profile players works as evenly it has in the 2021 trade of Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff. L.A. won a Super Bowl and Stafford is still playing great by leading the NFL with 30 TD passes, while Detroit’s team, mostly dormant since the late 1950s/early ’60s, came alive thanks to Jared Goff suddenly becoming what we expect from a first overall pick (2016) under new HC Dan Campbell, and after draft board maneuvering the boatload of picks they got were turned into Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and speedster Jameson Williams.

Stefon Diggs is the Patriots’ first true slot receiver since Julian Edelman retired. It was a money-in-the-bank vital spot during the dynasty thanks to Edelman, Troy Brown and Wes Welker.

FG kicking is ridiculous today. A 50-yarder is the new 35 and seven guys have made them from 60 yards in 2025. At the top is Jacksonville’s Cam Little, who hit a record 68-yarder in October after drilling one from 70 in August.

The Numbers:

76 – All-time NFL record for most rushing TD’s by a QB reached by Josh Allen after he got tush-pushed from about the five in Buffalo’s win over Pittsburgh.

259 – rushing yards piled up on the Eagles by Kyle Monangai (130) and De’Andre Swift (125) in leading Chicago to its shocking 24-15 win over the defending champs on Friday.

800– career wins for Miami Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra.

… Of the Week Award

Bad Ending of the Week – Bill Belichick: They won’t write that it was a good first year for BB at UNC. The Tar Heels closed out their season with three losses to North Carolina schools including Saturday’s 42-17 pasting by NC State to end Year 1 at 4-7. Not what they were expecting.

Quote of the Week – Kenyon Martin: Not sure what started the war of words between the 2000 first overall pick and 21st-century cheap shot king Draymond Green. But Martin had the most accurate comment when he said, “you played 128 games without Steph … the record is 52-76, under .500.” Bam!

Best Weekend In L.A. – Cooper Flagg: The 18-year-old Dallas rookie became the youngest player to record 11 assists in a game, on Friday versus the Lakers, and score 35 in one, versus the Clippers on Saturday.

Sports 101 Answer: New Orleans kicker Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard FG in 1970 was the first 60+ kick in NFL history. The record lasted over 40 years. He did it with a kicking foot that had no toes on it due to a birth defect.

Final Thoughts – Red Sox Rumor Mill: Word on the street has Jarren Duran as most likely to go to fill their need at first or third. But despite being a gold glove fielder with the power of 25 homers a year I’d be more inclined to trade Wilyer Abreu. Because with his speed, Duran can do things offensively few can do and I value that more than the defensive difference between Roman Anthony and Abreu in right. Plus 22-year-old Jhostynxon Garcia, who hit 45 homers in his last two minor-league seasons, is at worst a year away from being ready to replace Abreu.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/12/04

Red Cross

Two hundred eighty American Red Cross volunteers in New Hampshire “logged more than 33,000 hours so far this year responding … to provide safe refuge, hot meals, emotional support and basic health services for families devastated by home fires and other disasters,” according to a Dec. 1 press release from the Red Cross Northern New England Region. “The Red Cross also distributed more than $157,000 in financial assistance directly to New Hampshire households recovering from disasters, including home fires, in 2025,” according to the release, which also reported that nearly 100 people in New Hampshire “rely on the Red Cross after home fires every year in a typical November and December.” “Disasters don’t take holidays — and neither do our volunteers,” said Stephanie Couturier, regional CEO, Red Cross Northern New England Region, in the release. See redcross.org/local/me-nh-vt/ways-to-donate/local-giving.html for information on financial and blood donations to the Red Cross. Through Sunday, Dec. 7, while supplies last, those donating blood can receive a pair of Red Cross X Pac-Man socks, according to the website, where you can find local blood drives and schedule a donation appointment.

Maple ed

New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom will host the second Maple Symposium for educators on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Robert J. Lister Academy in Portsmouth, according to a Dec. 1 newsletter from the program. “Our presenting educators will show you how they incorporate maple lessons to meet the criteria they are already charged with administering to their students,” the release said. See extension.unh.edu/event/2026/01/nh-ag-classroom-maple-symposium for information on the symposium and see newhampshire.agclassroom.org for information about the organization’s “Tapping Into Maple Traditions” offerings for teachers.

Save the date

Bring Back The Trades New Hampshire Expo is slated for Saturday, April 18, starting at 9 a.m. at Londonderry High School, according to the organization’s website, bringbackthetrades.org/events, where you can find information on becoming a vendor or a sponsor at the expo geared toward students considering careers in the trades.

The Dec. 9 to Jan. 9 show at Glimpse Gallery, 4 Park St. in Concord, opens Tuesday, Dec. 9, and will feature works by Alex Rybak, Julie Daniels, Laurie Weston, Erica Bodwell, Peter Anderson, Corey Garland and Kristin Selesnick, according to theglimpsegallery.com. An opening reception will be held Saturday, Dec. 13, from 5 to 7 p.m.

NHTI’s Friday Night at the Movies will feature Quai des Orfèvres on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. at Sweeney Hall Auditorium at NHTI in Concord, according to a press release. Tickets cost $10 (cash or check at the door). The 1947 movie is “one of the most celebrated films of French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot,” who is known as the French “Master of Suspense,” the press release said.

The Griffin Free Public Library, 22 Hooksett Road in Auburn, will hold a craft supply swap on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to griffinfree.org.

Spyglass Brewing Co., 306 Innovative Way in Nashua, will hold a Holiday Makers Market on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to spyglassbrewing.com.

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