Twin Pines Receives $100,000 From Hanover Rotary Club

Hanover — The Hanover Rotary Club presented Twin Pines Housing, which builds affordable housing throughout the Upper Valley, with a check for $100,000 last Wednesday, half of the funds raised for local nonprofits at The Hanover Rotary Club Auction Gala.

Andrew Winter, executive director of Twin Pines, thanked the Rotary Club and the Upper Valley community for their support during the action, which was held on Nov. 9.

“The event was an important opportunity to expand awareness for Twin Pines Housing, and this significant donation provides essential funding for our efforts to support the more than 1,000 individuals residing in our housing and to create new affordable housing in the area,” Winter said in a news release.

The gala raised $200,000 to benefit local nonprofits, more than had been raised in past years. The auction also raised more than $17,000 to establish the Andrew Postupack Memorial Scholarship, which will provide four-year college scholarships for Hanover High School students.

Rotary President and Auction Co-Chair Nan Carroll said that the auction was a great success, with local nonprofits benefiting the most.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the enthusiasm and generous contributions generated by this year’s Auction Gala, allowing Rotary to broaden its support for many worthy local non-profits including Twin Pines and its important work in affordable housing,” Carroll said.

Saint-Gaudens Invites Public Input During Planning

Cornish — Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site will host a focus group for members of the public to share thoughts and ideas about the park’s visitor services, interpretive programs, and educational offerings as part of the site’s planning process.

The group will be held on Thursday Feb. 1 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Cornish Town Hall, 294 Town House Road, in Cornish. Note the location of the group has been changed from the town offices. The group is open to residents of Cornish, Claremont, Plainfield and Windsor.

RSVPs are appreciated, but not required. For more information or to respond, contact Stephanie Kyriazis, chief of interpretation, education and Visitor services, at 603-675-2175 ext. 151 or by email at stephanie_kyriazis@nps.gov. Information can also be found at www.nps.gov/saga.

Enfield Food Pantry Announces New Hours

Enfield — The Enfield Food Pantry, operated by the Friends of Mascoma foundation’s Food Insecurities Program, will be open on Thursdays from 3-5:30 p.m. beginning this week on Jan. 25.

This is change to previous hours.

The food bank is located at 23 Main St. in Enfield.

Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Animal Cruelty Charges

Plymouth, n.h. — A New Hampshire woman has pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty regarding the care of German shepherds at her property, a number of which died in fires.

A lawyer filed the not guilty plea for Jennifer Choate on Friday.

Authorities said a number of dogs died in two fires at her property in Bristol last year. One charge alleges that Choate left 29 dogs unattended inside a structure with heat lamps attached, which resulted in a fire.

Two charges allege that seven dogs weren’t kept in proper kennels and left in temperatures as low as 12 degrees. Another two charges allege that she didn’t properly care for dogs with infections.

Separately, Choate faces multiple charges about the care of 22 German shepherds in a case in Alexandria, New Hampshire.

Vt. Unemployment Drops To 2.8 Percent in December

Montpelier — The Vermont Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.8 percent last month.

The figures released Friday reflect a decline of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised November rate.

The December figure compares to an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in December 2016.

The statistics found that the Burlington-S. Burlington Metropolitan was tied for the ninth lowest unemployment rate in the country. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for the fifth lowest in the country. Unemployment rates for Vermont 17 labor market areas ranged from 1.9 percent in the Burlington-South Burlington area to 4.7 percent in Derby.

— Staff and wire reports