North Country

The majority of representatives from Northern Grafton and Coos County – including four Republicans - voted to support Gov. Lynch’s veto of  a Right-to-Work law last week.

As reporter Dan Gorenstein said supporters of the bill that would ban unions from collecting negotiating fees from non-union employees needed a 2/3rds majority to overturn Lynch’s veto (http://news.nhpr.org/post/right-work-defeated).

They didn’t get it.

The hiring for new jobs at the federal prison in Berlin should begin in the middle of December, says Mark Belanger, the manager of New Hampshire Employment Security.

That’s when the job openings will be posted on a government website (www.usajobs.gov), Belanger said during a meeting in Littleton Wednesday night about the kinds of jobs available at the prison and how to apply for them.

The prison is expected to have about 320 employees including about 200 new hires.

Almost one fourth of Coos teens - girls and boys - say they have “at least one alcohol or drug-use related problem,” according to a new report.

The research was conducted by The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire and was based on 564 youths.

The information was gathered during 2008 when they were in either the seventh and eleventh grades and then researchers followed up the following year.

New Hampshire Fish and Game is accepting nominations for its annual awards honoring organizations or individuals for achievements in “wildlife, fisheries, open land and wild places.”

Here are the seven categories:

     1. Ellis R. Hatch Jr. Commission Award of Excellence -- Recognizes an

individual, group, organization, club, foundation or agency that has excelled in

efforts to promote, enhance or benefit fish, wildlife or marine resources or the

Department’s mission. 

Under federal law the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is responsible for making sure workers are protected on the job.

But the federal agency rarely scrutinizes the North Country.

As NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports, it’s raising questions about how well workers are protected on the job.

 On the morning of May 14th in 2010 Jesse Kennett headed off to his new job at the Black Mag plant in Colebrook.

 That’s where he would be making a gunpowder substitute for use in replicas of muzzle-loading rifles.

With 200 new jobs available at the federal prison in Berlin a group of organizations from the North Country is offering a series of free meetings through the North Country to provide details and help applicants.

 The two-hour meeting will include presentations from officials with the New Hampshire Employment Security, The Gorham Family Resource Center and the White Mountains Community College.

While the jobs are seen as having good pay and benefits the application process can be tricky since much of it must be done on the Internet.

The Union Leader reports a Littleton businessman fighting with the town over a right-to-know request is likely to take his case to the state’s Supreme Court.

 Here’s part of the Union Leader’s story:

 “Littleton pizza shop owner Demetrios “Jim” Sourgiadakis alleges he was one of 13 merchants police officers and their union targeted for boycott last spring in a dispute over the proposed annual town budget.