NORTH HAVERHILL—Haverhill voters will be asked to approve a $15.6 million budget on town meeting day next month.
The board signed off on a $15,615,614 budget at the conclusion of a public hearing on the evening of Feb.14. During the hearing, board members did not adjust baseline spending, but they made adjustments to revenue sources in an effort to reduce the amount to be raised through taxes.

CHELSEA—County government in Vermont does not exactly have the same role as county governments in most states across the country. Nevertheless, there is still county government.
Orange County’s side judges led a sparsely attended public hearing on Jan. 26 on the budget, which went into effect on Feb. 1. The hearing was conducted via Zoom.
Total spending will exceed $900,000 for the first time. The total budget is $901,688, which is up from $875,046 and $835,176 in 2021 and 2020, respectively.

PIERMONT—Members of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit were in Piermont on Monday afternoon and evening as investigators collected evidence at a home on Mazzilli Drive.
Piermont Police Chief Brandon Alling referred questions to NHSP, who declined to speak to a reporter at the scene. Several police vehicles were parked in the driveway of the home and along the Mazzilli Drive roadway near the River Road intersection as a light snow fell in the early evening hours.

NORTH HAVERHILL—A Lebanon man plans to plead guilty to charges related to a 2019 carjacking and assault of David Dickey, a 79-year-old North Haverhill man who later died of his injuries.
Branden Harriman, 23, has filed paperwork in court indicating he will plead guilty to manslaughter and witness tampering. He could serve 12-25 years in state prison as part of an agreement with the prosecution, unless the sentence is amended by a judge at a sentencing hearing. In the event that a judge finds the agreement too lenient, Harriman could still withdraw his guilty plea.

BRADFORD—Orange East Supervisory Union Superintendent Emilie Knisley will not renew her contract when it expires on June 30.
During an executive session held on Jan. 18, Knisley informed the OESU board of her decision. The next day she wrote that it had been a “long-term goal” to give up her administrative role before her eldest son entered high school. As he will be in 8th grade next year, the time has come to make the move.