Granite State News Collaborative

A Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) report released in January, 2023, determined a feasibility study is required before the agency can move forward with its  investigation of a cancer cluster in Merrimack.
But moving forward hinges on securing additional funding—which the New Hampshire House is currently weighing– according to the report.

A few local nonprofits will see cuts in support from the town if the 2023-2024 proposed budget is approved at the town meeting on March 14, 2023.

At a recent meeting, selectmen discussed a proposal that would cut just over $6,800 in support to a handful of local nonprofit organizations. After advocates from Pemi Youth Center objected to the town taking away $3,000 of funding it was expecting to receive, the town agreed to reinstate the funds back into this year’s proposed budget, leaving $3,000 to be cut from donations to other local nonprofits. The budget committee and selectboard also recommended adding an additional $3,000 to other nonprofits it supports.

A warrant article asking the town for $13.1 million dollars will be voted on in March for renovations to the Wolfeboro Public Safety building. Wolfeboro’s police and fire chiefs say the upgrades are long overdue and desperately needed while some residents have expressed concerns about costs.  

“The current building is far too out of date to keep up with the latest technologies,” said Police Chief Dean Rondeau, who added that he hopes voters will approve the major renovation and an addition to the current building. “Science and equipment has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. The equipment is bigger and heavier. The floors can’t handle it, the building can’t handle it. We’ve simply outgrown [the building].”

The town's Select Board has dropped plans to move forward with a town-wide policy to ban the distribution of single-use plastics on town property and instead will leave it in the hands of voters.

The board made the decision last week after members of the town's Sustainability Advisory Committee filed a citizen's petition to have the town adopt an ordinance instead at the March 14 Town Meeting. The committee believes an ordinance to ban the distribution of single-use disposable plastics — such as bottles, containers, and straws — on town-owned property would have more teeth than just a policy.

After a slow start to the season, Pine Hill Ski Club in New London is now open with miles of ski trails, groomed for classic cross-country skiing. 

Pine Hill Ski Club Board President, Susie Lowe-Stockwell, said the slow start because of a lack of snow has shifted over the last month. “We’ve had a good stretch of being open,” Lowe-Stockwell said. “The groomers have been out. Conditions have been hard packed and fast.”

Twin Pines Housing appeared before the New London Planning Board in January with a revised site plan to Long Meadow Commons, a 60-unit workforce housing project on County Road near New London Hospital.

The revised plan maintains the 60-workforce housing units spread among four buildings on land currently owned by the Cricenti family. The site plan, which had originally proposed a large courtyard in the center of the complex, has been replaced with a smaller cul-de-sac at the rear. A playground and pavilion, which was to be in the courtyard, has also been moved to the southern edge of the development.

Northern Tree Service was at the Libby Museum in Wolfeboro Dec. 21 to remove several old and diseased trees from the museum property.

Kari Lauber of the Friends of the Libby Museum (FoLM) looked on and took pictures to document the event as crews worked to remove the trees. “Just having these trees removed is definitely a good feeling,” she said.  “It’s our first big step forward in a long time, and our first step towards the restoration.”

The paint peels from the walls of the Libby Museum in Wolfeboro like loose sticky notes reminding the town there are renovations to be done. The fate of this building, one of New Hampshire’s oldest museums, will be in the hands of Wolfeboro voters at the 2023 town meeting. 

The Wolfeboro Select Board met Dec. 7 to consider what budget items to present to voters at town meeting in 2023. A new public safety building, a school resource officer, a new boat, major museum repairs, and large equipment replacements were among the items reviewed.