Story Archives of 'North Country'

HHS Commissioner Provides "Sobering Numbers" to North Country

By Chris Jensen on Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

North Country healthcare providers met recently with Nicholas Toumpas, head of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services .

They got some bad news, a pleasant surprise, and a plea for innovation.

NHPR correspondent Chris Jensen has the story.

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Simulator Could Help Protect Troops, Teen Drivers

By Chris Jensen on Friday, November 6, 2009.

While most of the casualties we hear about from Iraq and Afghanistan involve roadside bombs and military action, not all of them are the result of combat operations. Since the US invasions of those two countries, hundreds of troops have died or been seriously injured in traffic accidents.

Car crashes are a problem at home, too. Last year about 4,000 teens were killed.

But a North Country firm and a military research center are trying to do something about both problems.

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The Recession and New Hampshire's North Country

By Laura Knoy on Sunday, October 25, 2009.

The economic downturn put the brakes on plans to revitalize the northern economy. Now studies show that it may take the North longer to get out of the recession than the rest of the state. We’ll check in on how the recession has hit the North Country and what it may take to let the good times roll once again.

Guests

  • Barbara Tetrault, reporter for the Berlin Daily Sun
  • Peter Riviere, Executive Director of the Coos Economic Development Corporation

We'll also hear from

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Bethlehem Landfill Operators Find Pollution Leaks

By Amy Quinton on Wednesday, October 21, 2009.

The owners and operators of the Bethlehem landfill say they have discovered pollution leaking in the system.
The D-E-S denied North Country Environmental Services, a subsidiary of Casella Waste, a permit to expand last December in part because of groundwater contamination.
North Country Environmental Services took the state to court over the issue.
As New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, the case has now been put on hold.

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The Cost Of Getting Lost

By Chris Jensen on Monday, October 19, 2009.

A record 25 thousand dollar bill for a rescue last spring is fueling a debate among search and rescuers in the North Country.

Last April, 17-year-old Eagle Scout Scott Mason got lost during a one-day, 18 mile, solo hike in the Presidentials.

After a massive search, Mason got home alive and his family got the tab.

They’ve hired a lawyer to fight the bill, but the case brings up some important questions.

What’s the role of government and should people have to pay when they get into trouble?

NHPR correspondent Chris Jensen has the story.

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No Lions, No Tigers, But Lots of Bears

By Chris Jensen on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

Black bears in the North Country are not unusual. But this summer Bethlehem has got more bears than it wants and people are to blame. NHPR correspondent Chris Jensen has the story.

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Redeveloping the North Country Economy

By Laura Knoy on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

The Northern Forest Center has just released a new report detailing a strategy for how New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and New York can all work together to revitalize the economy in their respective northern communities. The plan was put together by civic and business leaders throughout the region. We’ll look at the plans and possibilities for making the North Country economically vibrant once more.

Guests

  • Joe Short, Sustainable Economies Initiative Program Manager for the Northern Forest Center
  • Rachael Stuart, senior program director of the Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
  • Charlie Jordan, editor of New Hampshire Magazine and longtime North Country journalist

We'll also hear from

  • Peter Riviere, executive director of the Coos Economic Development Corporation
  • Jim Tibbets, president and CEO of First Colebrook Bank, member of the Sustainable Economies Initiative Steering Committee and organizer of "Coos Goes South"
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Plant Closure Leaves North Country Towns in Crisis

By Kathryn Wells on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.

Governor John Lynch joined Vermont Governor Jim Douglas today to announce the opening of a temporary unemployment office in the town of Canaan, Vermont. It aims to help workers laid off at the Ethan Allen plant across the Connecticut River in Beecher Falls, Vermont.

About 130 of those who’ve lost their jobs are from New Hampshire. As NHPR’s Kathryn Wells reports, small towns in the North Country fear they’re at the end of their ropes.

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Opposition to Wind Energy Park Isn't Gone, But It's Light

By David Darman on Friday, June 12, 2009.

Noble Environmental Power’s wind energy park in northern New Hampshire has taken a big step toward getting constructed.

New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee has approved Noble’s application to erect 33 wind turbines on two remote mountains.

The few individuals still opposing the project have little recourse now to turn it back.

And there seem to be no bigger players looking to scuttle the conditions attached to the SEC’s approval.

NHPR’s David Darman has more.

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Federal Prison in Berlin Promises Jobs- If You're Not Yet 37

By Chris Jensen on Friday, June 5, 2009.

North Country residents finally had a chance to hear about the jobs available when the federal prison in Berlin opens in the fall of 2010.

They also learned about the qualifications needed.

And as NHPR Correspondent Chris Jensen report, the news shattered some hopes.

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