Newmarket softball shuts out Epping
April 25, 2008
Epping High School’s Karissa Patton held a cold ice pack on her right cheekbone late Wednesday afternoon. Not from the 10-0 pounding the Blue Devils got from rival Newmarket, but from a hard foul ball she got hit with while watching the baseball game between the two schools.
The amazing thing about it was she could still laugh about it with her teammates.
“Rosie (Chooljian) said I was missing some of my teeth and they were making fun of my smile,” laughed Patton.
Patton said that what she’ll remember most about the day was not the game, but looking at the grass, seeing a white blur coming at her and getting hit by the ball.
And her friends teasing her, of course.
“Now I know what it feels like to get hit with a ball,” said the Epping senior.
From Ken Stejbach.
Racing Schedule at Epping’s All-Star Speedway Could Change
April 25, 2008
The owner of All-Star Speedway told the Board of Selectmen there will only be racing on Sundays this summer in case of a rain out, or a race running past curfew. But that could change next year.
Track owner Robert MacArthur came to Monday’s meeting to let selectmen know about the occasional Sunday races. The issue came up at last week’s meeting, when Selectman Tom Gauthier spoke about a complaint he received from a resident about the track’s Sunday racing.
“We put in the Sundays to avoid running too late,” MacArthur said. “It shouldn’t be an issue though, because your by-laws say that I can run Sundays if I want to. The (New England) Dragway has 122 events. I’ve got 26. Be prepared though, because next year, I’m going to ask for the same 122 race days they have down the street.”
By Terrill Covey.
Trial Nears For Sheila LaBarre
April 25, 2008
For two years, her story has captivated the state, and now, Sheila LaBarre is about to go on trial on charges that she murdered two men.
Prosecutors said LaBarre acted in cold blood, but her lawyers said she suffers from a mental illness.
LaBarre, 49, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge, both former boyfriends. LaBarre has pleaded insanity, admitting that the state can prove she killed them but saying she was insane at the time.
LaBarre’s trial is scheduled to start in early May.
Full article from WMUR.
Jurors to see Ransacked Farm when LaBarre Murder Trial Begins
April 25, 2008
The long, rutted dirt road to the former home of Sheila LaBarre works its way into a wooded area and is soon flanked by short New England-style stone walls and leafless trees that seem to stand sentry over the entrance to the now infamous murder scene.
Further down the road and just beyond a stand of trees are large untilled fields blanketed in dead hay on each side of the road.
Shrouded in darkness from the surrounding trees sits a small, white farmhouse, abandoned and vandalized, flanked by several cars and trucks parked haphazardly about the property with dented hoods and body panels, slashed tires, ripped seats and smashed windshields.
This is the scene that will greet jurors as they view the property in addition to two other sites before hearing testimony in the insanity trial against LaBarre in May.
By GRETYL MACALASTER and JOHN HUFF.
(What’s with the romanticized prose here?)
Sense and Sensibility Remains Relevant
April 24, 2008
With all do respect to the Bard, no one captures the essence of springtime in the theater like Jane Austen. Winsome, whimsical and ironically, quite wise, the stage adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is as germane to the politics and humor of love today, as the original story was in 1795.
Currently on stage at the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts (through April 27) the production effuses with all the charm, wit, complications and Romantic era drama you might expect of the English landed gentry.
Bubbling with a rich thematic soup of -isms (materialism, feminism, classism, etc.) the story ponders the potential for emotional satiability. How do lovely, spirited women find true love? Especially those femme fatales who carry the burden of questionable marriageability second to uncertain family finances?
35+ Epping Residents, Police Listed on Witness List in LaBarre Case
April 21, 2008
Prosecutors released on Friday a list of 140 potential witnesses in the case against Sheila LaBarre.
The list includes over 35 Epping residents and police officers who could possible be called by the prosecution to testify in the trial.
PDF: LaBarre Prosecution Witness List
Prosecutors have listed 140 possible witnesses for Sheila LaBarre’s upcoming insanity trial, including several of the Epping woman’s former husbands and an ex-boyfriend.
The list also includes dozens of Epping residents, LaBarre’s relatives from Alabama and police officers from around New England.
LaBarre, 49, admitted to murdering both Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge at her Epping farm, but has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. In May, a jury will decide whether LaBarre should be held legally responsible for the murders.
Neighbors, a number of whom are listed as potential witnesses, described a regular stream of young men who would live on LaBarre’s farm for brief stays before disappearing. Unsurprisingly, several possible witnesses are men who had relationships with LaBarre during which they reported she was abusive.
Russ Choma 0 Union Leader.
WMUR Report (With PDF)
Crash Victim Identified
April 16, 2008
The man killed in a car crash on Route 125 in Epping on Monday has been identified as the Rev. Jeffrey Hansis of Newmarket.
The Wadleigh Falls Road retirement home where Hansis lived for the past year is reeling after hearing the news. He was remembered Tuesday as a thoughtful and kind man who would go out of his way to help his neighbors.
Hansis, 58, was killed after the 2007 red Honda Fit he was driving crossed the yellow line on Route 125, south of Route 155 and struck a 1990 GMC truck driven by Matthew Shey, 35, of 70 Cotton Farm Road in Danville, according to Epping police.
More from Gretyl Macalaster, Fosters.
Also see Karen Dandurant, Seacoast Online.
Selectmen Put Concerns to Rest Over Seacoast United soccer
April 15, 2008
Many of the issues concerning the Seacoast United soccer fields were quickly put to rest by Executive Director Paul Willis at Monday night’s selectmen’s meeting.
Willis cleared up some confusion from the prior meeting, where it was asserted Seacoast United had not paid any impact fees when the fields were first built. He told the board the group did pay an impact fee.
“I also have a strong objection to blaming Seacoast United for the damage on Shirkin Road,” Willis said. “It is my understanding that that has been a bad road for years, and the extra 10 inches of rain in 2006, and all the extra snow this winter couldn’t have helped.”
Willis, who met earlier in the week with Selectman Karen Sott and Building Inspector Dan Kramer to discuss the issues with Seacoast United, said he would like to work closely with the town to ensure any of the selectmen’s concerns are met. The two biggest concerns discussed Monday were the lack of a certificate of occupancy, and overflow parking along Shirkin Road.
Full story from Terrill Covey, Seacoast Online.
Commons of Epping Set To Open in July
April 15, 2008
Opening in July, the Commons of Epping is a 25,000-square-foot commercial property offering retail units starting at 1,200 square feet and office suites starting at 500 square feet.
The new construction features earth tones and cultured stone and brings open, airy and spacious office opportunities to local, regional and national businesses. Located on Route 125 in Epping, the Commons is owned by the principals of The Stove Shoppe and Fences Unlimited. Both businesses plan to open second locations at the property and currently own storefronts at 25 Indian Rock Road (Route 111) in Windham.
“We built the Commons so both the Stove Shoppe and Fences Unlimited can better serve Epping and the Seacoast, and we look forward to sharing our expanding line of products and services with more of New Hampshire,” said co-owner Ken Szymansky. “We’re excited to partner with other businesses to offer a fresh, new convenient shopping location for residents of Epping and neighboring communities.”
Full story in Seacoast Online.
Man Killed in Two-car Crash on Route 125 on Monday
April 15, 2008
An unidentified man was killed in a two-car crash on Route 125 in Epping early Monday afternoon.
Epping Police Lt. Michael Wallace said authorities are working to identify the man, who was not carrying any type of identification at the time of the accident.
Video
“And, he wasn’t the registered owner of the car,” said Wallace. “We’re trying to locate the owner to see if they can help us find out who the man was.”
Police responded to the accident at 11:55 a.m. According to their report, a 1990 GMC 6500, driven by Matthew Shea, 35, of Danville, was traveling northbound on Route 125, while a 2007 Honda Fit was traveling southbound.
Full story from Karen Dandurant, Seacoast Online.
See Also:
Aaron Sanborn, Fosters Daily Democrat.
Jason Schreiber, The Union Leader.
