From the Newsroom: Seacoastonline - Fosters.com

Portsmouth (N.H.) High School baseball coach Tim Hopley shares a personal memory of athletic director Rus Wilson, who died on Monday, Aug. 31. Wilson was 64.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Tom Kozikowski of Portsmouth, N.H., shares a story about two city recreation guys summoned to save the Portsmouth High School athletics department. There were big-time changes ... and a lot of balloons.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Portsmouth (N.H.) High School assistant athletic director Tom Kozikowski reflects on the day he was hired by Rus Wilson and the Portsmouth Recreation Department. Wilson died on Monday, Aug. 31. He was 64. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Norton, director of inmate services at the Rockingham County jail, discusses why housing is critical for newly-released offenders with substance use disorders. 

Exeter police Chief Stephan Poulin and Bradford police Chief Jim Valiquet, who was the lead Exeter detective investigating 8-year-old Tammy Belanger's disappearance in 1984, talk about the ongoing search, the unsolved case's impact on the community and some of the latest developments in the cold case investigation. 

Former Exeter News-Letter reporter Steve Stevens recounts reporting on the disappearance of 8-year-old Tammy Belanger in 1984.

ROCHESTER — Police cited a Farmington man in a pair of two-vehicle collisions within a two-hour period Wednesday morning, the first sending a vehicle crashing through a Washington Street home’s porch and the second entrapping another driver in her car on Route 11. George Ballou, 45, was issued a summons for failure to yield in the Washington Street crash and a yellow line violation in the Route 11 crash, according to Capt. Todd Pinkham. Ballou wasn’t charged or arrested. Both crashes are still under investigation, Pinkham said. The first crash occurred around 7:30 a.m. and the second around 9 a.m. Authorities, victims and witnesses say it’s fortunate no one was seriously injured in either crash, though one woman was injured in the second crash.

PORTSMOUTH -- A three-hour response by two SWAT teams, more than 30 police officers and multiple firefighters ended after noon Wednesday with the arrest of a Kearsarge Way man, who was the subject of prior SERT calls, the last time ending with two AR-15 rifles and three pistols being seized. Police Chief Robert Merner said the Seacoast Emergency Response Team initially responded to serve a warrant for the arrest of Isaac Brake, 45, of 322 Kearsarge Way, for criminal trespassing. The chief said Brake was not welcome at that address and while Brake’s guns were not returned to him after his February 2018 arrest, police responded Wednesday morning under the assumption that he could have obtained more guns.

PORTSMOUTH - A state legislative committee is set to vote Thursday on water quality standards for PFAS chemicals that are substantially lower than the ones set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Andrea Amico is a Portsmouth mother and wife whose children and husband were exposed to high levels of PFAS while drinking contaminated water from the city-owned Haven Well. She called the scheduled vote “a critical moment in New Hampshire to take very protective and proactive steps to help protect residents from these chemicals.” The New Hampshire Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) is scheduled to vote on the proposed maximum contaminant levels (MCLs)/drinking water standards for PFAS and ambient groundwater quality standards (AGQS) at its Thursday meeting.

SOMERSWORTH -- When Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris stepped on the stage Sunday for a town hall meeting, the first thing she said was, “I fully intend to win this election.” Her audience roared their approval. Harris spoke at Somersworth High School to a packed crowd, filling the cafeteria with so many people unable to find space that an overflow location with a projector was set up in the gymnasium. “I think we all know we are at a pivotal moment in time, where we are each, as individuals and collectively, being asked, ‘Who are we?’” said Harris. “Part of the answer is that we are better than this. This has become the moment we must fight for the best we are. It’s not a new thing for us to fight for our ideals, not new to fight for our love of country and the for the soul of this country.”

Gilles Bissonnette, legal director for the ACLU-NH, on Saturday sent a letter to Town Administrator Martha Roy, the members of the board of selectmen, the town planner, the building inspector and the police chief, noting that the town had no right to remove the signs and that in doing so it had violated the U.S. and New Hampshire constitutions. “The Town’s removal of the ‘Portsmouth Pride’ signs on private property violated the First Amendment and Part 1, Article 22 of the New Hampshire Constitution,” Bissonnette wrote. “People in New Hampshire have a First Amendment right to place whatever signs they want on their property.”

NEWINGTON -- Newington resident Patrick Patterson serves on the board of directors for Seacoast Outright, an organization that supports LGBTQ youth in the Seacoast area, so he was eager to help promote the fifth annual Portsmouth Pride event that took place June 22. Portsmouth Pride, hosted by Seacoast Outright, is a celebration of the Seacoast’s LGBTQ community and includes a parade and a fair at Strawbery Banke. Patterson gave a sign promoting the June 22 Pride event to his neighbors, Kellie and Dave Mueller, who put it on their lawn at the corner of Nimble Hill Road and Coleman Drive, a highly visible location.

NH Law Makers Forms Study Committee to Fit Tiny Homes Into Zoning Laws. Tom Sherman and John Morgan went to Hampton Falls to tour tiny homes. The zoning language does not quality certain homes as acceptable living spaces. 

LITTLETON -- A woman sentenced to life in prison in connection with the 1988 killing of a Hampton man will not receive a hearing on her pardon request. The state’s Executive Council voted unanimously Wednesday to reject Susan McLaughlin Cook’s petition for a hearing. It was the fifth time the council has denied her request. “It’s a serious crime, and she was convicted by her peers,” Executive Councilor Russell Prescott said. “Those peers knew all the facts at the time, and I don’t believe there’s any new facts.”

PORTSMOUTH -- Providers could be moving forward with a 10-year plan to offer additional and needed mental-health services if not for Gov. Chris Sununu’s June 28 veto of the state budget, said Democratic officials, during a Tuesday press conference at Seacoast Mental Health. State Sens. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, and Tom Sherman, D-Rye, were joined at the press event by Rep. Patricia Lovejoy, D-Stratham, and Jay Couture, executive director of Seacoast Mental Health. They urged about 20 SMH employees in attendance to contact Sununu and urge him to pass the proposed budget with $90 million in business taxes they said would fund the 10-year mental health plan.

ROCHESTER -- Kay Keenan came home to her Rochester Housing Authority apartment Monday to find her Trump 2020 flag had been removed from its flag holder, rolled up and placed next to her door with a note. “The office continues to call me about the Trump Flag. Please do not put it back up,” wrote the property manager. By Tuesday, Keenan had the flag back up in its holder, flying adjacent to the U.S. flag she also put up last week as she appeals the housing authority decision. Keenan said she had permission to fly the flag during the appeal process.

The American Red Cross is looking for blood donations in New Hampshire and Maine after facing a major blood emergency following the week of the Fourth of July. Due to people participating in holiday activities and traveling, the average number of blood donations per week saw a significant drop, resulting in 17,000 fewer blood and platelet donations than a typical week.

CONCORD -- Convicted murder accomplice Susan McLaughlin Cook is asking the Executive Council for a pardon hearing again. Cook, 67, is serving life in prison with no chance for parole in connection with the murder of Robert Cushing, 63, of Hampton, a prominent real estate broker, former teacher, World War II Marine Corps veteran and outspoken community advocate. He was killed on June 1, 1988. Cushing was the father of state Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, who declined to discuss the pardon request on Tuesday.

SOMERSWORTH — On a Monday afternoon, there were empty parking spaces all along Main Street. The only cars in sight were the ones passing by. That’s a common occurrence on Main Street, and the city is seeking to put those parking spaces to use with a proposal to relax parking regulations for downtown developers by eliminating the parking requirement for new projects. The City Council is scheduled to consider what’s called the Special Parking District at its Aug. 5 meeting. A public hearing on the proposal is also scheduled that night. The overlay district, as it is proposed now, includes what the city considers three economic centers: one at the intersection of Main, Market and High streets; a second covering the offices on Highland Street and Constitutional way; and a third covering Main Street across from the former GE building.

 Shortly after the Portsmouth Herald reported a recent spate of graffiti around the city, lanterns near the African Burial Ground Memorial were vandalized by graffiti, in one instance with the message, “I am everywhere.” The landmark Robert Wyland “whaling wall” mural was marred on a corner by black and white painted symbols, with no obvious meaning.

A July 2 lockdown of the Pease Air National Guard Base was prompted by one person who reported hearing gunshots, but that person had never heard gunshots before, Police Chief Michael Bilodeau said Monday. Bilodeau said police followed up with that person, who reported hearing gunshots to a supervisor, who in turn called base security. The initial late-morning report led to a police response from multiple agencies, the base being put on lockdown and a subsequent search.

PORTSMOUTH - A consultant hired by the city to work on Portsmouth’s financial plan with Redgate/Kane touted the strength of the proposed redevelopment project for the McIntyre federal building Monday night. David Eaton, a principal of Colliers International, stated in response to a question we “feel it’s a very strong project.” He added he believes the redevelopment plan will be able to “sustain the ups and downs of the market.” “Portsmouth is a unique little market here,” Eaton said during Monday’s meeting, where members of the public were allowed to ask him questions about the proposed financial plan between the city and Redgate/Kane.

 Seven units were damaged in a first alarm fire at the Royal Crest Motor Inn early Tuesday morning, and people in three units displaced. The fire struck at 12:58 a.m. in the bathroom of unit No. 24 in the motel on Ashworth Avenue, its cause still under investigation, said Hampton fire Capt. David Mattson. It was contained by 1:16 a.m. and then under control by 1:46 a.m., according to Hampton fire dispatch.

City Council could vote on a proposed application to the National Parks Service to redevelop the McIntyre Federal Building as soon as July 15th, but Redgate/Kane, the developers, could opt out under certain circumstances. 

PORTSMOUTH -- A 20th anniversary walk from Kittery to Market Square by members and supporters of NH Rebellion aimed to bring awareness to the need to remove big money from politics. The group was joined in the walk by Democratic presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand, who later in the day joined Equal Citizens for a town hall meeting at 3S Artspace. Before the walk, select members of the group were in Portsmouth, depicting characters like James Madison, Justice John Stevens, Betsy Ross, Dark Money, SuperPAC and a Superior Court law clerk, who was stamping money with the message that the money was not to be used for bribing politicians.

PORTSMOUTH -- Charlie Howard was 23 when he died, 35 years ago, on July 7, in 1984. He was murdered when three boys, ages 15, 16, and 17, threw him off the Kenduskeag River Bridge in Bangor, Maine. He could not swim and they threw him over because he was gay. A memorial celebration of Howard’s life was held on Sunday at South Church. After the service, attendees each took a white rose and walked to the Memorial Bridge, tossing the roses into the Piscataqua River as a tribute to his life.

Serhii Havrylenko, originally from Ukraine, describes what his family went through after his 15-year-old daughter's green card was not delivered by USPS, and USCIS would not replace it without fee. 

Chris Muns, CEO of One Sky Community Services and Tom Schladenhauffen, Rear Commodore of the Kittery Point Yacht Club and Vice Commodore of the Piscataqua Sailing Association visited Edge Radio to discuss the upcoming One Sky Challengers Cup Regatta and Poker Run.

Voices of Portsmouth Pride Day

Celtics legend Paul Pierce took the stage and fielded questions during the 2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Scholar Athletes of the Year

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Courage Award

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Boys Coach of the Year

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Girls Coach of the Year

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Male Athlete of the Year

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Female Athlete of the Year

2019 Seacoast All-Star Sports Awards Team of the Year.

Ken Sheldon, president of Bank of America in New Hampshire, says the bank is proud to help encourage young talent in the Seacoast.

William Hinkle of Eversource says the energy company is sponsoring the 10 to Watch young professionals contest because of its desire to be a leader in workforce development.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, a Phillips Exeter Academy graduate, doesn't share President Donald Trump's political views. But Yang explains why he believes he could surge to the top of a crowded Democratic field like Trump did as the outlier in a large field of Republicans in the 2016 race.

NH State Senator Martha Fuller Clark, Chris Muns, CEO of One Sky Community Services and Jim Kane, founder of INGU (I Never Give Up) chat with Edge Radio about an April 9th article, published on Seacoastonline.com that highlights the efforts of INGU and One Sky in finding employment for those living with disabilities.

Bill Kristol, a neoconservative political commentator and founder and editor of the now-defunct political magazine, The Weekly Standard, made the case why Republican President Donald Trump should face a Republican primary in the upcoming 2020 presidential primary.

Part 1 of 3: Shelby Cormier discusses her life as a single mother to 4-year-old twins Brooklyn and Logan, following the loss of her husband in 2015. Brooklyn has cerebral palsy, and the family is fully focused on getting her to walk independently. 

Part 2 of 3: Pete Cormier, a police officer, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2015, leaving his wife, Shelby, and twins Logan and Brooklyn, the latter of whom has cerebral palsy and is fighting to walk. The family recalls the immeasurable loss, and how they've picked up the pieces.

Part 3 of 3: Four-year-old Brooklyn Cormier, who has cerebral palsy, goes to physical therapy five days a week, preparing for an April 23 specialized surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital, which is hopefully the next step in her living life freely on her feet. 

Dover state Sen. David Watters explains why he is backing Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in the 2020 presidential race.

New Hampshire Lottery Commissioner Charles McIntyre speaks at UNH Law School about the state's place in U.S. lottery history.

Diane Shover was among the residents who collected belongings Thursday, March 14 at the scene of the four-alarm fire apartment building fire at 10 Bell St. in Berwick, Maine, that took the life of Berwick Fire Capt. Joel Barnes. 

Students from Eliot Elementary School interview elders for Local Stories Project.

Michelle Karakaedos, the mother of two of Thomas Young’s children, discusses the unanswered questions family members have about Young’s death in Rochester in May 2018, as well as the affect those unanswered questions have had on them.

Andrea LeBlanc of Lee, a longtime peace activist whose husband died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, recently spoke before the New Hampshire Legislature in favor of a bill that would repeal the death penalty in the state. Here she tells Seacoast Media Group that the U.S. is one of few developed countries that still implements the death penalty.