Man Hurt in Crash With Newport School Bus Dies

Newport —The 19-year-old Seacoast man involved last week in a school bus-versus-motor vehicle crash in Newport has died from injuries sustained in the accident.

Andrew Sheckler, of Dover, N.H., died on Wednesday, according to an obituary published by Foster’s Daily Democrat.

Sheckler was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on Monday morning after his Toyota Corolla collided with a SAU 43 school bus near LaValley Building Supply, according to police.

An early investigation found that Sheckler was attempting to make a left-hand turn into the business from Route 103 when the accident occurred.

Police ruled out speed, drugs and alcohol as factors in the crash.

The school bus driver was not injured, and there were no children aboard at the time of the crash.

Major Warehouse Fire At Vermont Country Store

Clarendon, Vt. — The cause of a major fire at the Vermont Country Store warehouse remains under investigation.

The fire in Clarendon was reported around 10:45 p.m.

The Rutland Fire department said its crews remained on the scene until around 5 a.m. Sunday. Route 7B was closed for about 12 hours and reopened late Sunday morning.

There was no word on the cause or if there were any injuries.

The original Vermont Country Store opened in Weston in 1946. There is another store in Rockingham, and the company has a large mail-order business.

Whale Known as ‘Ladders’ Washes Ashore on Cape Cod

Provincetown, Mass. — Researchers say a 54-foot fin whale that was found dead in Massachusetts was known to them for more than 30 years.

The Cape Cod Times reported the whale that washed ashore in Provincetown on Tuesday had been given the nickname “Ladders” for the twin propeller scars near its dorsal fin.

Officials at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies said they first catalogued the male whale in 1985, and he became well-known among whale watchers.

John Conlon of the Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch tour company told the newspaper he was “more than a little familiar” with Ladders and wishes he could have seen the whale one more time.

Researchers are working to determine what killed the whale. Fin whales, considered endangered, have a life span of around 85 to 90 years.

UNH Gets Grant To Train Fishermen, Farmers

Durham, n.h. — The University of New Hampshire is getting nearly $800,000 for a program that seeks to boost U.S. seafood production.

The money from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will fund an aquaculture training program that will recruit fishermen and farmers from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine and will focus on farming steelhead trout and blue mussels.

The grant was announced by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.

They said it will help lead to innovative and sustainable solutions to problems impacting the economy, environment and wildlife.

Vermont Sees Growth In Early Voting

Brattleboro — Early voting in Vermont has grown steadily over the past 20 years, and some believe participation could significantly spike this year.

Vermont Public Radio reports that 17 percent of Vermont voters used the system during the last midterm election in 2014, and that number could double this year.

Vermont has one of the most lenient early voting laws in the country, allowing people to vote by mail or in person at town offices up to 45 days before Election Day.

— Staff and wire reports