Epping, Raymond Exceed Expectations on the Court
March 18, 2008
They may be fierce rivals on the court but Epping and Raymond share one thing in common — all four basketball teams exceeded preseason expectations this season with impressive campaigns.
Perhaps the best player from either school was senior Chris Crowley, the Class M first team All-State guard who memorably topped 1,000 points in the final seconds of a home win earlier in the year. The prodigiously talented Crowley and big man junior Jimmy Riordon (honorable mention All State) formed an imposing duo and helped the Blue Devils finish 12-6 in the regular season. Once in the postseason tournament, Epping edged Littleton for a home playoff victory before bowing out in the quarter-finals to state finalist Newmarket. Epping figures to be a factor again next year with its captain Riordon returning.
Full story in the Union Leader.
Tibbetts Resigns School Board Post After Policy Clash
March 18, 2008
School board member Pam Tibbetts abruptly resigned and stormed out of a fiery meeting last week after accusing a former board member of being a “bully” and telling her that she should have an “out-of-body experience” to see how she acts.
An angry Tibbetts quit the board Thursday night, moments after publicly criticizing Sue Kimball amid questions over whether family of school board members should be allowed to work for the district.
“I wish you had some type of out-of-body experience to see some of the things you do and how you rally people and you bully,” Tibbetts told Kimball.
“Ditto,” Kimball fired back, addressing the board from the public podium.
Full story from Jason Schreiber, Union Leader.
Sheila LaBarre’s Personal Tape Recordings Examined
March 14, 2008
Defense attorneys for Sheila LaBarre are preparing to listen to 350 cassette recordings made by the alleged Epping murderer over a number of years.
The micro cassettes that LaBarre recorded were found in a number of places inside her house and barn, said Prosecutor James Boffetti of the attorney general’s office. “We are cooperating with the defense lawyers to make any of that material available to them,” Boffetti said. The tapes were made by LaBarre over a period of years dating back to the early 1990s, he said.
Attorneys on both sides of the case said they were unable to comment on the content of the tapes or how they may come into play in LaBarre’s insanity trial in May. “I think you can assume that everything we do now is related to the insanity defense,” LaBarre’s Boston attorney Jeffrey Denner said. “We are in the process of reviewing all of the discovery the state is providing to us, so we are reviewing (the tapes).”
Lara Bricker has the full story on Seacoast Online.
LaBarre Undergoes Third Psychiatric Evaluation
March 12, 2008
A woman who admitted to killing two men at her Epping farm but said she was insane at the time has undergone a third psychiatric evaluation.
Sheila LaBarre has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kenneth Countie. Last month, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing Countie and Michael Deloge. Both men lived with her at different times on her farm.
LaBarre has been evaluated twice by her defense team. Tuesday’s four-hour evaluation was conducted by the state.
Epping To Remain SB 2 Town
March 12, 2008
Epping will remain an Senate Bill 2 town, after petition warrant articles to return to Town Meeting were crushed Tuesday night.
The question was on both the town and school ballots, and it was defeated 992 to 215 on the town warrant, and 948 to 274 on the school warrant.
The town’s operating budget passed 765 to 455, and the school budget passed 630 to 597, in one of the closest votes of the night.
Article 27, which would have granted selectmen the authority to permit the sale of alcohol at the local racetracks, failed by a 645-564 margin.
Karen Sott, with 518 votes, won the three-way race for selectman. Sott defeated Jim McGeough, who garnered 488 votes, and Matt Killen, who had 171.
Read the whole article, including more election results, from Terrill Covey, Seacoast Online
Newmarket Tops Blue Devils in Class M Basketball Tournament
March 10, 2008
Trailing Newmarket 31-13 early in the third quarter the Epping High School boys basketball team needed Superman in basketball sneakers.
Of course … the Blue Devils did have Chris Crowley.
Crowley’s third-quarter performance may have been a tough act to follow, but Joe Downing and the Mules went back to what they did best all season long and advanced to the Class M semifinals with a 55-34 quarterfinal victory Sunday night at Southern New Hampshire University.
Read the full story from Ken Stejbach.
Meet the School and Planning Board Candidates
March 8, 2008
Terrill Covey of Seacoast Online has profiles of the two candidates for the opening on the planning board, Greg Tillman and Stephen Colby, as well as the three candidates for the school board; Shawn Patten, Gregory Dodge and Dave Reinhard.
Read the stories here. Planning Board candidates and School Board Candidates.
High Court Okays Man’s Murder Trial
March 8, 2008
An Epping man who served 15 years in prison for attempted murder can be tried for murder now that his victim is dead, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
Walter Hutchinson, 51, would have been eligible for parole last year after he served his minimum sentence for beating and choking his former girlfriend, Kimberly Ernest, until he believed she was dead. But Ernest, who remained in a vegetative state after the attack, died in November 2005. The state charged Hutchinson with first- and second-degree murder after a medical examiner said Ernest’s death resulted from injuries suffered in the assault, according to court records.
Hutchinson said the new charges violated his state and federal constitutional rights to freedom from double jeopardy. A jury had already convicted him of attempted murder, and he’d served his time for the crime, he said. He appealed to the state Supreme Court when a Rockingham County Superior Court judge dismissed his claim.
Full story from Joelle Farrell, Concord Monitor
Psychiatrist To Examine LaBarre
March 6, 2008
The state’s expert psychologist will examine Sheila LaBarre for a second time on Tuesday as the Epping woman’s double murder case heads closer to trial.
Dr. Albert Drukteinis, a forensic psychiatrist, already spent one day with the accused Epping murderer and needs more time to evaluate her, according to court documents. LaBarre will be transported from her cell at the Strafford County Jail to the Dover Police Department Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. where her attorneys will observe as Dr. Drukteinis meets with her for what is expected to be an all day event.
Drukteinis is the director of New England Psychodiagnostics and an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School.
LaBarre, 49, admitted last month that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her of killing Kenneth Countie, 24, of Wilmington, Mass., and Michael Deloge, 37, of Somersworth, both of whom dated LaBarre and moved to her Epping farm where they later vanished.
Full story from Lara Bricker.
Schools Set Goals For Improvement
March 4, 2008
After being designated a School in Need of Improvement, Epping has responded by not only meeting, but surpassing its goals for improvement.
In two years, the district has met its anticipated three-year goals. The math and reading scores for Epping students have gone up significantly in just two years of time. Reading scores jumped 14 percent, while math scores climbed 13 percent over the past two years.
“These results translate into 60 Epping students moving from non-proficiency to proficiency in two years,” said SAU 14 Superintendent Barbara Munsey. “The district has also met its improvement goal a year earlier than anticipated.” School Board Chairman Jeffery LeDuc said the improvements are a direct reflection on the staff at the Epping schools.
More from Terrill Covey.
