Coos County

For the first part of our series, Going Local, we look at the Great North Woods. 

The very top of our state, with its small towns and expansive outdoor recreation options, is a region driven by local government, where school funding, access to well-paying jobs, and retention of a sustainable workforce are all big issues.

This show originally aired on July 12, 2018. 

The Coos County Planning Board will consider Wednesday night whether to allow new developments on Mount Washington. This follows a Cog Railway proposal to build a hotel about 1,000 feet from the summit.

NHPR's Jessica Hunt spoke with Union Leader correspondent John Koziol about response to possible development.

A new study from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire shows people living in rural northern New Hampshire and adjacent counties in Maine and Vermont hold increasingly positive views of life there, though they also agree that the lack of job opportunities, drug abuse, and population decline are important problems.  (Scroll down to read the full research report.)

For more on the study of life in rural northern New England we turn to Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology and a senior fellow at the Carsey School. He's one of the authors of the study.

President Donald Trump was elected last year with a promise to put America first: to renegotiate or possibly scrap trade deals he argues aren’t benefiting the United States.

In northern New Hampshire, where the state bumps against the Canadian border, those policies are now playing out in the lumber industry, leaving loggers and sawmills on both sides of the border adjusting to a new economic landscape.

If you pass through the northern New Hampshire town of Stewartstown and Clarksville, you may notice signs informing you that you are standing on the 45th parallel, the halfway point between the North Pole and the equator.

Such signs appear in quite a few places along the 45th parallel, but some are farther north and some farther south than others.

The 45th parallel, in other words, is a fuzzy line, and in this week’s Granite Geek column for the Concord Monitor, David Brooks explains why the line is so difficult to nail down—and why so many people insist upon trying.

This past winter four New Hampshire friends set out for a 12 day thru hike of the Cohos Trail -  170 miles from Crawford Notch to the Canadian Border.  When they began their hike in early February they had no idea that if they finished they'd become the first hikers to ever complete the trail in winter.  NHPR's Sean Hurley has more. 

With more than 4000 miles of hiking trails, it's not too hard to get away from it all here in New Hampshire. But if you want to get even further away, you could head out on the Cohos Trail, one of the wildest, most remote trails in New England. I recently went for a hike on the Cohos with trail founder, Kim Nilsen.

In the dirt lot at the base of Owl's Head mountain, 68 year old Kim Nilsen pulls a weaved pack basket, made by his daughter, over his shoulders.  

Rockingham County is officially the healthiest place in New Hampshire, while Coos County is struggling in terms of public health.  That’s according to a report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin.

In the towns of Dalton and Whitefield in Coos County voting was heavy Tuesday morning.

Dalton Town Moderator Ann Craxton seemed quite pleased with the way things were going.

“The turnout for us has been very heavy. We have 540 registered voters. We have more than 50 that voting absentee and here by 10 o’clock in the morning we’ve already had 80 come through the polls.

Beyond that Craxton says the voters are an eager and happy bunch.

During last week’s primary Coos County Commissioner Bing Judd lost his bid for re-election by five votes.

Today (Monday) there was a recount in Concord.

NHPR’s Chris Jensen has the results.

Bing Judd, who has been a Coos County Commissioner since 1997, has lost that position.

In a recount today in Concord Judd lost by seven votes.

599 to 592.

Originally Judd lost by five votes, prompting him to ask for the recount.

Judd is from Pittsburg – where he lost to Samson.

Samson from Stewartstown.

Bing Judd, who has been a Coos County Commissioner since 1997, has lost his seat by five votes.

Judd had 592 votes compared to 597 for challenger Rick Samson, deputy secretary of state David Scanlon told NHPR Thursday afternoon.

Late Thursday Judd said he will be driving to Concord Friday to file a request for a recount.

"Five votes in 1,200, there could be a mistake," he said.  "It could go either way."

That recount is expected to occur Monday.

Judd had not faced a challenge for more than a decade.

An unusual and important race in the North County will be decided on Tuesday.

It’s the political future of Bing Judd, a longtime Coos County Commissioner and one of the best-known figures in the region.

NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

For the first time in more than a decade Coos County Commissioner Burnham “Bing” Judd is being challenged for the commissioner’s spot he’s held since being appointed by a court in 1997.