News
Vt. Sex Assault Suspect Deemed Unfit for Trial
By Jordan Cuddemi
White River Junction — Prosecutors have dismissed a sexual assault case against a former mental health and substance abuse counselor who had two offices in the Upper Valley, saying he is unfit to stand trial because he is cognitively impaired.A...
Footage From the Moose Mountain Plane Crash, 50 Years Ago Today
Here is a compilation of scenes of the October 25, 1968, rescue and removal operation on Moose Mountain in Hanover after the crash of Northeast Airlines Flight 946. The original 24 minutes of footage was provided to former Valley News sports editor...
Sharon Woman Found Not Guilty in Fatal 2017 Crash
By Jordan Cuddemi
Newport — A Sullivan County jury on Wednesday found a 23-year-old Sharon woman not guilty of causing a head-on crash in September 2017 on Route 10 in Croydon that resulted in the deaths of two Newport residents.Kristin Lake had no visible reaction...
Police: Couple Kept Girl in Small Basement Room with Alarm
The Associated Press
New Boston, n.h — A couple confined a girl for more than two months to a small basement room that had mesh-covered windows and was rigged with an alarm, police said on Tuesday.Thomas Atkocaitis, 57, and Denise Atkocaitis, 55, of New Boston, both face...
Amish Families Are Moving to Vermont
By Anne Wallace Allen
While Vermont leaders tie themselves in knots trying to draw new people to the state, a group of Amish families has quietly moved into the Northeast Kingdom from Ohio and Pennsylvania on its own. The 10 Amish families are all loosely related, and they...
These Are the Tallest and Shortest States in America, Data Says
By Christopher Ingraham
The tallest adult men in America live in Iowa and Alabama, while the tallest women live in South Dakota.Hawaii, meanwhile, can lay claim to the shortest members of either sex.Those figures come from the latest release of data from the Center for...
50 Years Later, a Hike to a Deadly Plane Crash Site Still Has a Lot to Teach
By Jared Pendak
Etna — Nearly all of the wreckage from the airplane that smashed into the southeast side of Moose Mountain is gone, and the large swath of trees obliterated during the deadliest wreck in New Hampshire aviation history has mostly regrown in the five...
After Decades of Stability, Downtown Hanover Retail Is in a State of Flux
By John Lippman
Hanover — College towns are often known for placid stability.Storefronts and sidewalks would remain unchanged for decades, a testament to the enduring strength of tradition and settled habits insulated from a changing world.But the realization that...
River Valley Club Co-Owner, Dartblog Writer Joe Asch Dies at 60
By Tim Camerato
Hanover — Joe Asch, a prominent Upper Valley businessman and blogger known for his sharp criticism of Dartmouth College administrators, died on Tuesday. He was 60.His death was an apparent suicide. Responding to the report of an unconscious male at...
Dartmouth to Move Racially Insensitive Murals Off Campus
Staff Report
Hanover — Dartmouth College has decided to move a set of racially insensitive murals to an off-campus storage facility after complaints from Native American students prompted the creation of a committee to study the issue.The four painted scenes —...
Thetford Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison on Sexual Assault Charge
By Jordan Cuddemi
White River Junction — A former worker at an assisted living facility in the Upper Valley who sexually assaulted a resident with dementia will spend at least the next 15 months in prison.Michael Paton Jr., of Thetford, pleaded guilty to a felony count...
An App to Keep Students Off Their Phones During Class
By Tara Bahrampour
Like many educators, Lorenz Neuwirth, a professor of biopsychology and neuropsychology at SUNY Old Westbury, was tired of his students scrolling through their phones during class. The students were physically present, but mentally many were miles...
Newport Manufacturer and Its Owner Still Going Strong After More Than 55 Years
By John Lippman
Newport — Roy Malool stands next to a tank the size of a grain silo inside his manufacturing plant in Newport.The blade inside the 40-drum-capacity tank, dubbed “The Monster,” is turned by a 60-horsepower motor that mixes batches of industrial...
Man Pleads Not Guilty In Death at Truck Stop
By Jordan Cuddemi
Wells River — A 34-year-old Vermont man pleaded not guilty on Thursday to gross negligent motor vehicle operation in connection with the death of a truck stop worker in Wells River last year.David Gilbo, who was living in Newbury at the time, pulled...
William Ruger Jr., CEO and Community Champion, Dies at 79
By Tim Camerato
Newport — William Ruger Jr., who worked for more than four decades for Sturm, Ruger & Co., the firearms manufacturing company his father co-founded, and who became a major benefactor in Sullivan County, died on Saturday at his home in Newport after a...
Canoe Club in Hanover Closes
By John Lippman
Hanover — Following weeks of rumors that the business was on shaky ground, the owners of Canoe Club confirmed on Monday that the Hanover restaurant and bar is closing effective Tuesday.The decision comes a year after Canoe Club was sold by its former...
Hanover to Auction House Taken for Taxes
John Lippman
Etna — Maybe it’s not a haunted mansion, but it’s recent history sure has been spooked.The town is moving forward with a tax sale of 5 Gates Road, one the highest assessed value properties on the town’s tax rolls, after consecutive owners failed to...
N.H. Teen Held Captive for Nine Months Says She Never Lost Her Will to Survive
By Alyssa Dandrea
Handcuffed with a jacket over her head, Abigail “Abby” Hernandez could hear the squeezing and popping of her cellphone as her captor attempted to break it into pieces. The man who had taken her at gunpoint and threatened to slit her throat in Conway...
Vt. Man Charged With Criminal Threatening at DHMC
Staff Report
Lebanon — A 43-year-old Bradford, Vt., man is facing a criminal threatening charge after police say he threatened security officers on Friday morning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.The threat did not result in a lockdown, but officials at the...
Judge Drops Child Porn Charges in Lebanon, Blames Improper Police Procedure
By Jordan Cuddemi
North Haverhill — Child pornography charges filed against an 18-year-old Lebanon man were dismissed this week after a judge ruled that city police had improperly seized his cellphone at Kilton Public Library in November and then conducted an...
