Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph Daily News

HUDSON – Five veteran educators are planning to retire from the Hudson School District in June, including four teachers with at least 30 years of experience. Administrator Tim Broderick and teachers Nancy Morey, Nicholas Hines, Susan Rugg and Jim MacEachern all submitted letters to the School Board with intent to retire from the district at the end of the school year. The board approved each letter last week. Five retirees is higher than the past couple of years, Superintendent Randy Bell said, but it’s not an unusually high number. He said each person will be missed for their dedication and loyalty to the Hudson School District. “They’re part of our solid veteran base,” he said. “There’s some 100 years of service represented.” Broderick is the assistant principal at Hudson Memorial School and worked 15 years in the district.

What officials are calling “fortuitous circumstances leading to a lightning-fast rescue” saved the life of a German man who had a serious medical incident while hiking in the White Mountain National Forest. According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, Robert Obermeier of Munich, Germany, and his wife, Monica, were hiking on the Sabbaday Falls Trail in the town of Waterville Valley at about 10:10 a.m. Thursday when Robert collapsed about a quarter of a mile from the trailhead. His breathing stopped. Minutes later, two other hikers, who were medical doctors and also from Germany, happened upon the couple.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport will hold its second annual Customer Appreciation Day today. The event is on the first floor of the airline terminal building from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. You also can follow the activities via the airport’s Web site, flymanchester.com, and participate in contests on the site, according to airport spokesman Tom Malafronte. A number of prizes are up for grabs, including airline tickets and travel vouchers, passes for free parking and other airport and airport-related services, tickets to Fisher Cats and Monarchs home games, and gift certificates to restaurants and hotels, Malafronte said. The River, 92.5 FM, will be at the event playing music and giving away concert tickets and CDs, and the band Air Traffic Control will play from 3-4 p.m., Malafronte said. “We realized we had a very loyal core group of customers here,” he said. Mark Brewer, the airport’s director, said the success of the first customer appreciation day last year made it easy to decide to hold another celebration this year. “The day was a great success as we interacted with over 1,500 customers and communicated with several hundred others that participated via Facebook and Twitter,” he said.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged a Nashua company with firing a worker because she has a heart condition. It’s one of the few, if not the only, such cases litigated by the EEOC in New Hampshire under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC claims in a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Concord that Windmill International fired Nancy Hajjar on April 12, a week after she said she needed to take off time for a procedure to clear clogged arteries and perhaps for heart surgery. Hajjar had already told the company in March 2010 that she had blocked carotid arteries, a potentially life-threatening impairment of her circulatory function, according to the EEOC. The suit doesn’t say how long Hajjar worked at the company or what her position was. “Defendant terminated Hajjar because of an actual and/or perceived impairment of her circulatory or cardiovascular functions,” the suit charges. The company told the EEOC that it fired Hajjar for performance issues, but didn’t put her on a written performance plan, as it did others with performance issues, so the explanation was “false,” according to the EEOC. “When an employer fires someone because the employee has disclosed a serious medical issue, she is at her most vulnerable,” said Markus L. Penzel, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Boston area office, which has jurisdiction over New Hampshire.

CONCORD – A Massachusetts woman who suffered a gruesome hand injury while Christmas shopping for underprivileged kids at the Walmart in Hudson is suing the company for negligence. Kathleen Werst, of Acton, Mass., was shopping with some friends on Dec. 1, 2006, in the Lowell Road store, looking for gifts for needy children in her community, when she spotted an item on her list on an upper shelf, according to documents filed at U.S. District Court in Concord. She climbed about 18 inches off the floor and still couldn’t reach the item. But when she tried to jump back down, one of her rings caught on the metal shelving unit.

The 2011 fall chapter of the Nashua North-Nashua South Battle for the Bridge began Wednesday with the girls and boys soccer doubleheader at Stellos Stadium. In the girls game, South took a 2-0 victory. The Panthers took advantage of two first-half goals, one early and one late, to improve to 7-4 on the year. Emily Durette scored 34 seconds in, assisted by Katie Conmy. South’s Marina McIntosh’s free kick found the twine at 36:36 for the game’s only other goal. North goalie Stacy Peterson had nine saves while South’s Bruna de Paula and Michaela Nault combined for five saves.

NASHUA – A Temple Street man received a suspended jail sentence for burglary, but prosecutors dropped mugging charges against him because the alleged victims refused to cooperate. Ezequiel Quintana pleaded guilty to the burglary charges and received a 12-month suspended sentence Wednesday in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Speaking through a court-appointed translator, the man in his early 20s admitted that he stole jewelry in July 2010 from a woman whom a prosecutor described as an acquaintance and possibly a relative. Quintana agreed to pay $1,300 in restitution to the victim. He was placed on probation for a year. Quintana has no prior criminal record, said Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney David C. Tencza. Tencza said the other charges against Quintana have been dropped, including another alleged burglary and a mugging, because the victims wouldn’t cooperate. Quintana, who was living in an apartment at 29 Temple St.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Shaun Ellis says he’ll have no problems going to the correct sideline when the New England Patriots defense leaves the field after a series on Sunday. “No, I won’t have to (look twice) at all,” he said. “Not at all. … It’s going to be different.

There are things we should all know at a certain age, but for one reason or another sometimes we don’t. That’s why I am grateful to certain school districts in the state that decided to reschedule some high school athletic events this week so they didn’t conflict with the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Nashua North and Nashua South will battle tonight at 7:30 in the feature event of the annual fall “Battle for the Bridge,’’ and in perhaps the biggest regular-season game in Division I, Pinkerton Academy travels to Exeter to see which team remains the only unbeaten team in the state’s top division. I guess the first time I became aware of Yom Kippur was in 1965, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax missed a World Series start in observance of the Jewish holiday. It’s happened with other players over the years, including Kevin Youkillis of the Red Sox. But I never took the time to learn anything about the importance, in the Jewish faith, of Yom Kippur. To summarize, with the help of Wikipedia, Yom Kippur “also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance.

GIRLS SOCCER Nashua South 2, Nashua North 0 The Panthers took advantage of two first half goals, one early and one late, to improve to 7-4 on the year. Emily Durette scored 34 seconds in, assisted by Katie Conmy. South’s Marina McIntosh then found the twine at 36:36 on a free kick from 35 yards out for the game’s only other goal. North goalie Stacy Peterson had 11 saves, while South’s Bruna de Paula and Michaela Nault combined for six saves. North fell to 1-10-1. Campbell 6, Derryfield 1 Olivia Planty and Briana Silck scored two goals each to power the Cougars (11-1) past Derryfield. Casey Mellen and Liz Pettis chipped in offensively with one goal each. Freshman Emily Moreau played an outstanding game at the sweeper position, along with the rest of the defense.

No one ever told Derek Paradis that he needed to be the next David Zocco, the outstanding two-way player who led the Nashua High School South football team to a state championship three years ago. But when Paradis hit the field as a sophomore starter two years ago, he just happened to be playing the same positions as Zocco. Paradis gained over 1,000 yards as a running back, a feat he’d repeat last fall. He became a very good strong safety, earning first-team All-State honors last fall. But the next David Zocco? “I never felt like I was taking over for him,” Paradis said. “He was the Gatorade Player of the Year, obviously, there was no way I was going to take his spot.” If Zocco did everything for the Panthers three years ago, one of the keys to the team’s 2011 title chances might be a more varied role for Paradis. He’s now sharing the feature back position with fellow senior Armond McRae, one of the most dangerous offensive players in the state.

It may be just a little over a mile away, but for the members of the Bishop Guertin High School golf team, Nashua Country Club won’t seem like much of a home course advantage in today’s Division 1 state championship. It’s not BG’s home course, and most of its players saw it for the first time in a practice round this week. But at least it’s not Bretwood Golf Course in Keene, where the host Blackbirds captured the title last year. There’s no doubt Keene has the state’s best player in junior Chelso Barrett, who won the individual title last year and finished second this summer in the U.S. Junior Amateur.

NASHUA – Local company Windmill International announced a $9 million order of its satellite receiver systems for military services in Afghanistan. The order was the “largest direct award” the company has received from the U.S. government, according to David Martin, vice president for tactical SATCOM business development. “This is a major win for us,” he said. “It’s a large accelerator into the product business.” The order included many KA-10s, training and product support for the U.S. Central Command Special Forces in Afghanistan.

HUDSON – Atrium Medical Corp., which has offices on Wentworth Drive, announced Monday that it was acquired by a Swedish corporation for $680 million, but representatives said no jobs would be affected in Hudson. Atrium signed an agreement to be acquired by Getinge Group and its subsidiary, Maquet Cardiovascular, which is a global company that focuses on cardiovascular technologies. Atrium marketing director Kelly MacMillan said the company would retain all employees and continue with business as usual in Hudson. Atrium Medical develops devices and technology for cardiology and radiology, chest trauma care and thoracic damage, vascular surgery and general surgery. The company will operate as a “self-contained” unit of Maquet Cardiovascular and continue leadership in Hudson with President Trevor Carlton. “Maquet Cardiovascular’s heritage and global leadership in the interventional cardiology, vascular surgery and cardiopulmonary space provides us the resources necessary to continue to grow our business and better serve our customers around the world,” Carlton said in a statement. Christian Keller, president and CEO of Maquet Cardiovascular, added that the acquisition of Atrium is an “excellent strategic fit” with the corporation’s long-term goals. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission must approve the acquisition. It is expected to do so in the fourth quarter of 2011.

MANCHESTER – What many consider the state’s largest and most prestigious business networking event, the Business and Industry Association’s 98th annual dinner and awards ceremony, is slated for Oct. 26. The event, which draws more than 700 business, political and opinion leaders from around the state, will be from 4:30-8:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Manchester. Two of the state’s most coveted honors, the Lifetime Achievement and New Hampshire Advantage awards, will be presented. Last year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award was former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. The award recognizes business leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to leadership in their professions, communities and state.

Jim Donchess wants to focus on the present, not on the past. His candidacy for one of Nashua’s three open alderman-at-large seats, he says, is “based on what I can offer voters now; not what I did 20 years ago.” But emphasizing the present over the past is a delicate line to walk for an experienced candidate, especially one with two terms as mayor under his belt. On Wednesday, for instance, Donchess proposed giving the city Police Department more resources to combat crime in the downtown neighborhood known as the Tree Streets. Those resources include increasing the department’s overtime budget to give officers flexibility on the job, particularly more patrols in that neighborhood by the Problem Oriented Policing unit, Donchess said in an editorial board interview with The Telegraph. But to illustrate the results of feet-on-the-ground policing, Donchess pointed to how, as mayor, he helped combat a crime wave in the French Hill neighborhood in 1988. Drug dealing and murders prompted more police foot patrols, housing code enforcement and federal foreclosure of properties and eventually a safer neighborhood, he said. “We have to do this in the Tree Streets,” Donchess said. To be fair, The Telegraph editorial board also asked Donchess questions about his leadership as mayor, from 1984-91. But the past had a way of becoming a reference point in several of Donchess’ explanations about his campaign platform. “We need to get back to basics. We need to focus on our core mission,” he said. For Donchess, that mission includes “a common sense approach to government.” Education, police and fire should be kept strong, but other services need to be reviewed as the city tries to operate in a weak economy, he said. If the city needs to cut its budget further than it did this year, Donchess said, the CitiStat department – which, among other duties, analyzes the performance of city services – “isn’t necessary.” Also, the emergency management department duplicates the efforts of the police and fire departments, he said. Donchess also voiced his opposition to the construction of the Broad Street Parkway, which, after years of delay, started this summer with ancillary road work and Millyard Technology Park building renovations. The city’s $37.6 million bonding of the project will cost as much as $4 million annually, and no one in government has publicly discussed where that money will come from, Donchess said.

CONCORD – Five presidential candidates have said yes but none of the front-runners has yet grabbed at the chance to speak Wednesday to the state House of Representatives during its one-day session. Earlier this week, House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, extended the invitation to all GOP candidates and President Barack Obama. All the major Republican hopefuls are confirmed to attend a Bloomberg News-Washington Post-sponsored debate on the campus of Dartmouth College next Tuesday night. Those GOP candidates who have confirmed they will come to Concord the next day to speak to lawmakers are Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Georgia businessman Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ex-New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and ex-Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. Obama and GOP front-runner Mitt Romney have not responded. Texas GOP Gov.

NASHUA – Friends and Fribbles all around. There were nothing but smiles Wednesday at Friendly’s restaurant on Daniel Webster Highway where local customers rejoiced in the news that their favorite eatery was spared from the chopping block after company officials declared bankruptcy. Company officials filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, announcing plans to close 63 of their nearly 500 stores across the country. In New Hampshire, the Portsmouth store is slated to close in the coming months, but the Nashua location was spared, along with ones in Concord, Manchester and Laconia among others. “We’re here, and we’re going to be here a long time,” one store employee said Wednesday afternoon as she prepared a bill. “We’re not going anywhere.” The restaurant buzzed with activity early in the afternoon as dozens of people, from students to seniors, gathered for lunch. Kayley Oleksaki, 3, of Nashua, smiled happily as she downed a plate of chicken tenders. Brooke Treska, 12, of Dracut, Mass., wiped ice cream from her chin as she sipped her peanut butter cup milkshake. “Every time they get out of school early, we come here,” Brooke’s mother, Tricia, said as she left the restaurant with Brooke and her younger brother David, 3. “The three of us got lunch, and it was $13,” Tricia Treska said with a broad smile.

In a welcome bit of good economic news, the number of foreclosures of homes and businesses in Hillsborough County fell sharply in the third quarter, returning to levels not seen since 2008. And while 2008 was hardly boom times, the decline raises hope the area may avoid the double-dip recession that many fear is coming. There are no promises, however, because the county’s foreclosure number had a similar dip in the first quarter of this year only to rebound afterwards, and underlying economic problems remain. “It could be a sign that things are getting a little bit better, slowly, or it could be a sign that some of the foreclosing entities are slowing down their processes a little bit,” said Bill Ray, managing director for policy, planning and communication with the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. “What this really means is it’s really going to be a protracted period before we come out of the foreclosure problem and the market comes back to something more normal,” he added, acknowledging that housing experts have been making similar statements since at least 2009. The Telegraph has tallied quarterly foreclosoure filings at the county Registry of Deeds for three years as one way to keep an eye on the economy. Foreclosure filings are only a rough guide to the state of the housing market, since only a few percent of units are affected.

CONCORD – A game of political chicken between House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, and Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, looks destined to cost state taxpayers by giving welfare recipients a $2 million bonus between now and January. Gov. John Lynch, O’Brien and Bragdon all support a pending bill (SB 198) that fixes a hole in the budget. Lawmakers and Lynch wanted to save $8 million in state dollars by cutting welfare benefits for those who also receive federal Supplemental Security Income checks. The needed language to make this benefit cut, however, was left out of the trailer bill to the state budget (HB 2) that became law in June. The Senate approved SB 198 on Sept. 7 to save state spending by cutting welfare benefits for those on both assistance programs. But the House Finance Committee heeded O’Brien’s wishes Wednesday and stuck on this bill a permanent ban on the judicial branch extending any contracts for marital masters. The panel approved the amended bill, 17-4. The House is likely to endorse this move next Wednesday, which means the Senate would have to vote on the bill again. Bragdon warned O’Brien that the Senate won’t be called back into session before January to take it up, leaving the budget glitch open in the meanwhile. This hole has cost $2 million since July 1 and will cost another $2 million if the Senate doesn’t take action until January. “We certainly don’t expect legislators to be in Concord all year long.