Sunday, May 16, 2010

Around New England: Taking a Dump in New Hampshire

About time for one.

FLASHBACK:


"Blasts at N.H. ammunition plant kill 2; explosions persist 2 hours" by Lisa Rathke, Associated Press | May 15, 2010

COLEBROOK, N.H. — Multiple explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in northern New Hampshire killed two people yesterday, shook buildings blocks away, filled the sky with black smoke, and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes....

Firefighters initially were unable to get close enough to fight the blaze because ammunition was still going off more than two hours later, Mia West, public information officer in Colebrook. said...

Hey, look, fireworks!

About 40 homes were evacuated, though some residents were allowed to return late yesterday evening. Some residents heard the explosion 1 1/2 miles away, West said. Displaced residents were offered accommodations in nearby Dixville Notch. Several communities in New Hampshire and Vermont sent fire crews....

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Update:


"Explosions at N.H. ammunitions plant investigated; Machine focus of inquiry after blasts killed 2" by Associated Press | May 16, 2010

COLEBROOK, N.H. — The investigation into a series of explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in far northern New Hampshire that killed two people Friday has led to one machine, the state’s fire marshal said yesterday.

J. William Degnan said that the investigation into the explosions at the MDM Muzzleloader building has led to a machine in the manufacturing section of the plant. He said no cause has been determined.

About half of the plant was heavily damaged by the explosions that killed two men and hurt another, shook buildings for blocks away, and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes. The building, in an industrial park in Colebrook, will be closed “for an extensive period,’’ Degnan said.

The explosions happened in an area where there was manufacturing taking place, Degnan said. He said investigators were learning what materials were in use. They were told the plant makes gunpowder.

That takes out half a building?

“We actually have some hazardous materials that we’re dealing with,’’ Degnan said, adding that crews worked to make the area safe for investigators.

Translation: COVER UP!

State police, representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were also at the scene....

Cover up confirmed.

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Hope they do a better job than the gas plant in Connecticut.

And what are these little MSM doodles?

"Cottontail rabbit population drops below 100 in N.H.; Biologists strive to restore habitat to help save them" by Kathy McCormack, Associated Press | May 16, 2010

CONCORD, N.H. — More than 50 years ago, New England Cottontail rabbits were plentiful from New Hampshire’s Lakes Region to the Seacoast.

Today, wildlife biologists believe there are fewer than 100 of the small brown rabbits in a state that has seen the sharpest declines in New England.

Biologists blame the loss of habitat — patches of thickets in younger forests — and they are working across the region to create a hospitable environment for the rabbits.

Related: Saving the Planet

It is not like I'm not sympathetic because I love the rabbits, but....

“They’re the poster child for the loss of shrubland habitat,’’ said Steven Fuller, a wildlife biologist with the state Fish and Game Department.

Last year, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut received federal grants to help preserve the cottontail. Since then, teams of state and federal agencies have been stepping up efforts locally and are working together in the region to control and create new habitat for the rabbits.

This is where I start seeing the EndGame.

The Rangewide New England Cottontail Initiative is focusing on areas targeted for conservation and restoration on public and private land with plans to branch out to Rhode Island, New York, and Maine.

New Hampshire and Maine — another state with a dramatic decline in the New England Cottontail — are working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on separate restoration projects.

Yeah, I'm sure this lying, warring government is concerned about life.

Tony Tur, an endangered-species biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, said new forests formed on farms that were abandoned in New Hampshire from the 1900s through the 1930s, which appealed to the cottontails.

But as forests grew older and more dense, the thickets preferred by the rabbits began to disappear, and remaining pockets have been fragmented by development. The New England Cottontail also was competing for habitat with another rabbit, the Eastern Cottontail, which is better at adapting.

Oh, so it is NATURE WORKING HER WILL again, huh?

The recent expansion of the Portland International Jetport in Maine is an example of how the cottontail’s preferred habitat of brush and brambles is being eliminated. Because of Federal Aviation Administration concerns, cottontails were removed from 13 acres to keep wildlife away from the runways.

Related: De Plane! De Plane!

Don't really care much about your health, do they?

The last survey conducted in Maine found only 300 of the rabbits in the state.

As recently as 1960, cottontails were found east of the Hudson River in New York, across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and in southern Vermont, New Hampshire, and southern Maine, the US Fish and Wildlife Service says. These days, they are considered extinct in Vermont, where there hasn’t been a sighting since 1971.

Why can't war criminals and looters go extinct?

We seem to have more of them than ever.

Four years ago, the Fish and Wildlife Service chose not to pursue protection for them under the Endangered Species Act. But they have been declared endangered by the states of Maine and New Hampshire, where officials are working with a small group of landowners to volunteer to set aside areas for the animals....

And who could be against a home for Peter Cottontail, huh?

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Other Sunday droppings:

"High School To Students: Turn In Cell Phones

A New Hampshire high school is taking away students' cell phones during class time in an effort to improve test scores.Teachers at Littleton High School will collect phones before classes start and return them at the end of the day.

I'll bet the kids protest that (but not the wars).

The Caledonian-Record reports the temporary ban, approved last week, is part of an effort to improve New England Common Assessment Program test performance. Poor scores put Littleton on a list of the state's lowest-achieving schools this year.

Yeah, it's the phone's fault!


Most of Littleton High School’s 280 students have cell phones.

Who doesn't nowadays?


The ban also applies to the Hugh Gallen Career & Technical Education Center and the Daisy Bronson Middle School. Lakeway Elementary School will continue requiring students to keep cell phones in their lockers or backpacks.

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"Dinner to be held for those affected by RI floods

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says he will hold a community dinner for those affected by the springtime floods that swept through Rhode Island. The dinner is is scheduled at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Cranston Senior Center. Whitehouse's office says it will give people a chance to share their stories and speak to representatives from disaster agencies. Whitehouse's office says representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration and the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency will be there.

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More:
Identical twins take top honors at Quinnipiac

Who do they know at the paper, huh?

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