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By RAY DUCKLER

Forget the eye-popping statistics – goals and assists - that regularly define hockey’s top players.That was not Mick Mounsey’s game. Instead, Mounsey used his refrigerator-like frame to keep high-flying forwards away from the University of New...

By RAY DUCKLER

The ever-growing Common Man franchise has gotten even bigger.With 20 sit-down restaurants spread around the Granite State already in his stable, owner Alex Ray now has, as he calls it, a third “touch-and-go” business, this one at the Epsom Traffic...

By RAY DUCKLER

Kimmy Coombs is a nurse at the Birches assisted living community in Concord, yet she felt the need to introduce herself Monday to the seniors she sees each day.As a full-blooded member of the Cherokee nation, Coombs told her audience about the history...

By RAY DUCKLER

She thought she had her dream job after medical school, working in a hospital, allowing her warm bedside manner to comfort patients like a heating pad.That’s what Dr. Jennifer MacKenzie had always wanted, ever since she played on medical equipment as...

By RAY DUCKLER

The town’s fight with a Chichester businessman over violations at his Dover Road property has spilled from the planning board to the county courthouse.That dispute will be the subject of a court hearing in March, when town officials and residents...

By RAY DUCKLER

If you’re looking for a sappy farewell from Bill Pliakos – who’s selling the Pit Road Lounge after owning it for 23 years – look elsewhere.Pliakos, born in Greece, is not that kind of guy. His staff is, though. They love the guy, they’re loyal to the...

By RAY DUCKLER

The storyline is so good that even ESPN wants a piece of it.Once the sports network heard about a different sort of Craigue’s List – one that has nothing to do with selling a couch or buying a chair – it reached out to Nate Craigue, whose connection...

By RAY DUCKLER

Officials at Beaver Meadow Golf Course wisely transformed their driving range into a parking lot Saturday, creating 300 spots.The life of Ryan McGonigle – who died from a heart attack on July 24 at age 47 – was to be celebrated, and insiders knew that...

By RAY DUCKLER

Arlene Fleury of Pembroke, 97, continues to live on her own and even writes daily thoughts to her more than 600 followers on Facebook.She’s the latest recipient of the Boston Post Cane award, a New England tradition that honors a community’s oldest...

By RAY DUCKLER

Sometime during the past 20 years or so, Dustin Kay latched onto his older brother’s hip for the very first time.Then he rarely let go.Maybe that’s why Mikey Kay wore so many hats on the day Dustin’s urn was buried. He hugged nearly every person in a...

By RAY DUCKLER

On Oct. 9, 2019, a stranger from North Carolina named Carson McLean noticed a photo of Kraig Emery on a website.Emery was raising a glass of beer, as though toasting someone. Shown alone, he wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t look mean, sad or angry,...

By RAY DUCKLER

Bryan Caruso was a bear of a man who once smashed home runs to far-away places during his high school and college careers.When it came to hitting, Eric Duquette, Caruso’s former business partner and coach at the Concord Sports Center, called his dear...

By RAY DUCKLER

John Taylor paused on the phone, more than once, before steadying himself and moving on.The first time concerned his sister, Janis Taylor, who was back in the news last week after Concord Police and the Cold Case Unit announced it was looking into her...

By RAY DUCKLER

His voice was unmistakable, even at 90 years old.We all know it, fans of Star Trek or not. The classic baritone, smooth like 50-year-old scotch, measured and controlled. The way Captain Kirk once sounded giving orders from the bridge of the Starship...

By RAY DUCKLER

Heather White of Chichester is grateful she took care of business – family business – before it was too late.Her mother and stepfather, Cheryl and Carleton Thayer of Concord, died in a car crash in Hooksett earlier this month. Black ice caused their...

By RAY DUCKLER

It’s hard following a legend.Quarterback Mac Jones has played well this season, helping the Patriots and their fans forget about Tom Brady. Or at least Jones is creating optimism, enough to dull the pain of losing the player who guided the franchise...

By RAY DUCKLER

Don’t tell Jean Durgin of Henniker that the War on Terror in Afghanistan was a failure.In fact, don’t try to convince any Gold Star Mother, or anyone else for that matter who’s suffered a loss over there, that the recent chaotic, deadly scenes from...

By RAY DUCKLER

First, at 11:05 p.m., their doorbell rang like crazy, in rapid-fire succession, suggesting something was wrong.Then came pounding on their front door, along with cries for a phone. Michelle and Michael Girard raced downstairs and opened the door,...

By RAY DUCKLER

She called herself a “fighter,” tattooing the scripted word, in black ink, onto her inner forearm while fighting for her life.Her family used the verb “pivot” again and again to describe her adaptability, explaining that Grace Orzechowski absorbed the...

By RAY DUCKLER

After his final shift as the owner of the Yellow Submarine on Saturday night, when his tiny business closed for good, Concord lost a stalwart businessman and his signature sandwich.David Luoma is retiring after 27 years working in the same spot, near...

By RAY DUCKLER

Martha Taylor, the official Henniker town historian, believes ghosts may exist.Not this ghost, though. Not the ghost named Mary Wallace – once connected to her hometown – despite visual evidence to the contrary, shown on a recent documentary on the...