Topping the news … A review of some of the stories that made big headlines in New Hampshire this year | Human Interest

Democrats voted to downgrade the nation’s first presidential primary, pushing New Hampshire behind South Carolina and on the same day as Nevada on the 2024 nomination calendar. Local Democratic leaders say a state law mandates New Hampshire hold a primary. The GOP holds Iowa’s traditional vote, followed by the Granite State in ’24.

The truck driver accused of killing seven motorcyclists in a 2019 crash in Randolph was found not guilty of all charges in August. A Coos County jury found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 26, of West Springfield, Mass., not guilty of all 15 counts, including manslaughter, manslaughter and reckless conduct.

Danielle Dauphinais, the mother of Merrimack boy Elijah Lewis, 5, who was found dead in a Massachusetts park in 2021, was charged with first- and second-degree murder. Her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison.

In the second case, investigators said Harmony Montgomery, 5, of Manchester was killed in December 2019. Her father, Adam Montgomery, is charged with second-degree murder.

A mother and her two children were shot to death in their Northfield home in August. A juvenile was arrested and charged in the deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two young sons Benjamin, 4, and Mason, 1.

Twelve days before his family was killed, Sean Sweeney found guns in their garage and the surrounding woods and told police he feared for his children’s safety, according to city police records.

Most people took off their masks and joined the events that welcomed people. The state reported more than 700 deaths from COVID-19 in 2022, including more than 400 during the first three months of the year. The official death toll since 2020 has exceeded 2,800.

Many people faced increases in their electricity bills of 50% or more as utilities paid more to buy fuel. Gas prices hit almost $5 a gallon in June before falling below $3.50 near the end of the year.

The April shooting death of Concord couple Stephen and Djeswende “Wendy” Reid sparked fear in the community until authorities arrested Logan Levar Clegg in Vermont six months later. Clegg, who was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, was caught with $7,150 in cash and planned to escape using a one-way ticket to Germany, authorities said.

William Loeb’s stepdaughter, Nackey Gallowhur Scagliotti, 76, said in an interview with the New Hampshire Sunday News that William Loeb, the late iconic publisher of the Union Leader, sexually molested her repeatedly when she was 7 years old. The abuse, she said, took place over the course of a year after she went to live with her mother and stepfather in Nevada in early 1953.

After 45 years in office, Gardner retired as the longest-serving elected leader in state history. Successor David Scanlan won his first full term in December to continue in that role.

Newspaper stories, including those published in the New Hampshire Union Leader, highlighted how little information the New Hampshire Board of Medicine publishes about physician wrongdoing. The General Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation. A legislative oversight committee held hearings and said lawmakers would propose two bills, including one to set up a medical transparency oversight commission to study the issue.

John Goldhardt resigned as superintendent of the Manchester School District in February, later saying he was pelted with eggs while walking his dog and piles of feces left on his doorstep. He also said he was attacked in Union Leader editorials before resigning.

In March, Goldhardt was offered the superintendent position in Carson City, Nevada, but withdrew his candidacy citing concerns about the $170,000 contract he was offered and comments he called “defamatory” made by school officials. In May, he was hired as a supervisor in Laramie, Wyoming.

State regulators in May shot down a proposal to combine two of the state’s largest hospital systems over concerns that it would hurt competition and could result in higher prices for care.

The effects of the combination of Dartmouth Health and GraniteOne Catholic Medical Center’s parent company would have been felt most strongly in the Manchester area, according to regulators.

Armando Barron of Jaffrey was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 45 years for the murder, assault and battery of Jonathan Amerault in 2020. He later received 7 to 14 years in prison for the crimes he committed against his wife, Britany, as she wanted a divorce.

Barron shot Amerault after his wife refused Barron’s order to shoot the man.

Britany Barron has confessed that she helped destroy the body from fear. She later pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with physical evidence, one involving sawing Amerault’s head off the corpse. She was released on bail in April.

The management team at Gunstock Mountain Resort resigned en masse over the summer after months of growing frustration over relations with the delegation-appointed Gunstock Area Commission, which manages the county-owned ski mountain.

Gov. Chris Sununu, who received a $500 political donation drawn from a commission account, condemned Republican state lawmakers who helped create unrest with the commission. Management of the ski area was reinstated after two commissioners resigned.