Sometimes good stories get lost in the press of breaking news, and so it happened with an excellent article by Adam Drapcho in the Laconia Daily Sun. He was providing an update on last November’s discovery of human remains on the grounds of the Laconia Airport in Gilford and the May 2 discovery of human bones in a remote area off Sandwich Notch Road.
Dr. Jennie Duval, New Hampshire’s Chief Medical Examiner, described the process used to identify the causes of “sudden, unexpected, or non-natural deaths” and to find out who the unknown persons are. “If bones are determined to be likely human, they are sent to a forensic anthropologist,” Drapcho wrote. “‘The anthropologist may be able to provide an anthropologic profile (race, sex, stature) and detect disease processes that can assist in identification,’ Duval said. The analysis might be cross-referenced with other data, such as dental or medical records.”
The article quotes several people who are involved in various aspects of such cases, and provides a glimpse into a fascinating if somewhat gruesome task that can lead to closure for the families of missing persons.
Laconia Man Injured In Crash
New Hampshire State Police report that 28-year-old Adrian Vintila of Laconia was seriously injured after losing control of his 2021 Toyota Camry on the Everett Turnpike at 12:25 a.m. on June 21. The vehicle left the road, struck a tree, and partially rolled over.
Due to the extent of his injuries, Vintila was taken by medical helicopter to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. Police closed the northbound lanes of the turnpike for about an hour and 20 minutes while handling the accident scene.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Improving The ‘For The People Act’
Kyri Claflin, who has been involved with New Hampshire elections and understands the concerns that the “For The People Act” raised in minds of many Granite Staters, wrote a column in the Concord Monitor explaining how our elected officials managed to amend the original document ahead of its June 23 Senate vote in Washington, D.C.
Technically known as H.R. 1 and S.B. 1, the proposed law is an anti-corruption and pro-voting rights bill that would curb the influence of “dark money” — political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose the names of their donors — as well as enacting strong ethics laws, ending partisan gerrymandering, modernizing voting systems, and guaranteeing equal access to the ballot box for all voters.
Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan brought the ideas of local election officials to Washington in order to ensure that local communities have flexibility in implementing key provisions of the new law. One such change they persuaded their colleagues to support would exempt towns with less than 3,000 registered voters from the 15-day early-voting requirement, instead requiring early voting on one Saturday and Sunday. More than half of the state’s communities have fewer than 3,000 voters.
Another change that came in response to New Hampshire officials’ concerns is expanding the deadline for implementation of new online voter registration systems. The act provides additional HAVA (Help America Vote Act) money to help states upgrade systems and make changes to their voter registration procedures, such as filling out forms at state agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The News Café is a virtual meeting place where we discuss the news of the day. An effort by the Liberty Independent Media Project, the work does not rely on advertising, as most media outlets do, freeing us to provide an independent focus on events and cultural issues. The project instead relies on direct monetary support from donors and subscribers.
If you like what we’re doing, please give what you can. Subscriptions to this newsletter are available for as little as $5 per month. Subscribers can share their knowledge, thoughts, and questions about any topic, and we may select some of those subjects for more in-depth analysis.
If you’re unable to pay but still want to receive all of the free public posts in your in-box, click the Subscribe button and select a free subscription.