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By RAY DUCKLER

He walked into the local convenience store loaded with the protective gear that he uses to defend himself and the residents of Pittsfield.He wore a bulletproof vest and carried a taser, two magazine cartridges, a service pistol, pepper spray and a...

By RAY DUCKLER

For regular customers like Dick and Andrea Bean of Pembroke who stopped by the Aubuchon store on South Main Street this week, the 40% off sale was exciting, but the news that the business is shutting down was beyond disappointing.The Beans came for...

By RAY DUCKLER

The outside door at N’Awlins Grille, which is holding its grand opening Tuesday night just off Main Street, leads to a tiny foyer.You’ll see a fireplace with a fake fire in it, wallpaper showing a four-pane window with Spanish moss hanging in the...

By RAY DUCKLER

The latest candidate for the Monitor’s Hometown Hero award, Lawre Murphy of Boscawen, strongly believed that her partner in keeping seniors on their toes, Brenda Bartlett, deserved the honor more than she did.Bartlett happened to be the woman who...

By RAY DUCKLER

Once, the clanging of weights and humming of treadmills filled the 6,500 square-foot facility adjacent to the Thirty Pines plaza across Burough Road.Soon, though, a new sound – the crackling of pool balls smashing together – will join Penacook’s...

By RAY DUCKLER

The deliberative session of the Pittsfield Town Meeting last Saturday attracted less than two dozen residents, who flew through 30 articles in an estimated 30 minutes.“We knocked them right out of the park,” Pittsfield Select Board Chairman Carl...

By RAY DUCKLER

Allenstown residents chose to reduce the potential operating budget at their deliberative session on Saturday, saving $25,000 by eliminating curbside recycling, which has emerged as a major talking point in recent years.The amended $5.5 million budget...

By RAY DUCKLER

Select Board Chairman Carl Anderson knows the word “taxes” might cause an uneasy feeling Saturday at the deliberative session of the annual Pittsfield Town Meeting.He also knows that taxes are unavoidable, a way to better serve towns throughout the...

By RAY DUCKLER

The costs of two vital programs in Allenstown – solid waste disposal and recycling, and fire and ambulance services – are contributing to a proposed 17% budget increase that will be discussed at the town’s deliberative session on Saturday.Town...

By RAY DUCKLER

Frances Plunckett doesn’t mind if you get the name wrong.She’s been living in Weare for nearly 20 years. She understands that “The Racquet Club of Concord” rolls off tongues in this area like any other Concord landmark, such as the State House and the...

By RAY DUCKLER

With all the preparation leading into Tuesday’s presidential primary followed by the start of town meeting season, it’s been a terrible time of the year to be without a full-time town clerk.Allenstown has been searching for a qualified individual to...

By RAY DUCKLER

Cheryl and Barry Mello of Allenstown hope that former president Donald Trump uses a filter this year as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for president.They fear a backlash might surface after nearly nine years since Trump rode the escalator...

By RAY DUCKLER

You’ve probably seen the sign hugging Route 3 in Boscawen, near the Penacook border.It’s big and announces that the restaurant located there, Alan’s of Boscawen – a landmark in the region – remains open after a 40-year run. The owner and founder, Alan...

By RAY DUCKLER

The line snaked from the Grappone Conference Center entrance into the parking lot, forming a giant ‘S’ of Donald Trump supporters exhaling frosty plumes, pinching their shoulders and smiling.The frigid temperatures Friday night didn’t stand a chance...

By RAY DUCKLER

At the corner of Murray Hill Road and Route 3A in the town of Hill, a campaign sign for Nikki Haley now stands for Donald Trump.In the Merrimack County town of about 1,000 residents, someone stopped at a sign that read “Independents for Nikki,” and...

By RAY DUCKLER

Former Marine Denis O’Connell felt ignored.He hoped someone – anyone – would answer his phone call seeking information about payments to Marines who had developed cancer from toxic water after serving at Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987. The base is a...

By RAY DUCKLER

Randy Pierce has been rooting for the New England Patriots for nearly 50 years.He watched them when they were awful, at Schaefer, Sullivan and Foxboro Stadiums in the 1970s and ‘80s. About a dozen years after his first live game, he began to listen to...

By RAY DUCKLER

Inside, David Cleveland’s father knew his son had created a great idea, an idea he liked, a warm and fuzzy tradition that just passed its 36th anniversary this past Christmas.But Jim Cleveland – the former Republican U.S. Congressman, poster boy for...

By RAY DUCKLER

Kevin Steed was inside Citizens Bank in downtown Pittsfield just before it closed at noon on Saturday when one of the other customers grew upset about a transaction, shouted obscenities and stormed out.Minutes later, Steed and everyone else in the...

By RAY DUCKLER

Mentioning Stella made Lou Sillari’s tired eyes open just a tad wider.His memories were sharp, considering. But some of his recollections of events 80, 90, even 100 years ago challenged him, causing him to pause, eventually needing his son, Peter...