The Keene Sentinel

12/15/2025

They’re really open to imagination,” naturalist and author Susie Spikol said.

HANCOCK — As a wintry mix fell outside Wednesday, eight children gathered eagerly around author and naturalist Susie Spikol as she brought them into her magical world.

12/14/2025

Due to recently announced bridge restrictions, fire trucks carrying hoses, ladders and first responders will have to reroute to Roxbury Street to access parts of East Keene in an emergency.

Heavy fire trucks carrying hoses, ladders and first-responders will have to reroute to Roxbury Street to access parts of East Keene in an emergency.

12/14/2025

The great fire of 1865 destroyed the buildings on the east side of Central Square in Keene. Water wells in the downtown area were pumped dry during the blaze and residents looked on helplessly as the fire raged. As a result of this disaster, a water system was installed in the town. Pipes were laid from Goose Pond to the north and water was piped into the village in November of 1869.

It was not long after the introduction of water that the residents began to notice the introduction of something else through the pipes; fish were swimming through the pipes from Goose Pond and visiting Central Square.

The great fire of 1865 destroyed the buildings on the east side of Central Square in Keene. Water wells in the downtown area were pumped dry during the blaze and

12/13/2025

Zachary Letourneau says that if he won the lottery today, he’d still show up to his job tomorrow.

That’s how much the lifelong Monadnock Region resident loves being a senior legislative aide for the N.H. House of Representatives.

Zachary Letourneau says that if he won the lottery today, he’d still show up to his job tomorrow. That’s how much the lifelong Monadnock Region resident loves being a senior legislative aide for the N.H. House of Representatives.

12/13/2025

Before over 20 fire engines and more than 100 first responders flooded Elliot Street in Keene that November morning, Snowden and Tyler Barter, one of the other trapped firefighters, were among the first to get to the scene. The flames of the four-alarm fire took hours to put out, led the nearby Wheelock School to be evacuated and left the home destroyed. As of Wednesday, officials continued to investigate the fire’s cause.

Though Barter, Snowden and Joseph Amato Jr., the third firefighter who was trapped, were released from Cheshire Medical Center that same day after being treated for burns, Barter was of the same frame of mind as his colleague when they were trapped in that house — he wasn’t going to make it out alive.

“When we lost the stairway, I immediately assumed that I was going to die.”

12/12/2025

Robert Faas, a captain with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue in Maryland, was hired on Wednesday, Town Administrator Max Vandervliet said.

The new chief will take the reins from longtime Chief Rick Donovan, who is retiring after nearly 60 years at the end of the month.

12/12/2025

Landya B. McCafferty, a judge in U.S. District Court in Concord, ruled on Oct. 14 that the 26-year-old's “present detention without a bond hearing violates” the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

The 26-year-old spent 15 days in ICE custody in Strafford County jail in Dover before he was released through court proceedings.

12/12/2025

Sixteen people with connections to Keene State have launched an effort to support the college and its liberal arts programs in the wake of recent cuts, the group announced Friday.

The yet-to-be-named group — made up of local business owners and students, among others — held the first meeting of its steering committee this past Tuesday. Per a news release, this was "the first step in a larger coordinated campaign" spurred by ongoing cost-cutting at Keene State.

12/12/2025

At a meeting Wednesday night, the City Council's Planning, Licenses and Development Committee sided with residents concerned about the rezoning, recommending 4-0 against it. Chair Kate Bosley was absent.

Adam Wright, who owns 371 Pearl St. and 291 Wi******er St., petitioned the city to rezone his two lots and three adjoining parcels from residential to commercial use.

12/12/2025

The 77-page “Chairmen’s Report” from the state’s Commission on Government Efficiency was released Thursday and calls for eliminating redundant public-information officer positions and reducing bureaucracy at state universities and colleges, among other suggestions.

The 77-page “Chairmen’s Report” from the state’s Commission on Government Efficiency was released Thursday.

12/11/2025

The board gave the go-ahead for Langdon and Walpole to vote on withdrawing from the Fall Mountain Regional School District, and for Francestown to vote on pulling out of the ConVal School District.

The state board of education cleared the way for voters in three towns to consider withdrawing from their regional school districts in March.

12/11/2025

Jesse Reno, a server at The Inn at Hancock, treats walkways in front of the building with salt Wednesday in preparation for impending winter weather in Hancock.

Photo by Bailey Stover/Sentinel Staff