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Friday, September 14, 2012
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Retirement cost hike will eat up most of tax cap space By Michael Kitch THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
LACONIA — Increases of more than 20-percent in the employer contribution rates set by the Board of Trustees of the New Hampshire Retirement System for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 this week promise to weigh heavily on the municipal budget here, adding $735,000 next year and $35,000 more the year after. For police the rate will jump 26.8-percent, from from 19.95-percent to see CaP page 12
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Jury nullifies evidence against Barnstead pot grower By Gail OBer
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
LACONIA — After three years of fighting and two days at trial a Barnstead man was exonerated by a jury yesterday of growing marijuana in his back yard. Douglas Darrell, 59, of 180 Shackford Corner Road was indicted by a Belknap County
grand jury in August of 2009 for one count of manufacturing pot. Atty. Mark Sisti represented Darrell and successfully argued the presiding judge should allow the jury to consider jury nullification — meaning that even if all of the facts of the case are proved to be true, if the jury believes that “the law under which the defendant is accused
is unjust, or that exigent circumstances justified the actions of the accused or (if) for any reason (that) appeals to their logic or passion, the jury has the power to acquit and the courts must abide by that decision.” After six hours of deliberations Wednesday and yesterday, the jury did just that. Previous attempts by Sisti
to get the court to suppress the evidence because aerial surveillance of his property violated Darrell’s state and federal constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure had failed. In Darrell’s case, N.H. State Trooper Christopher Huse was assigned in 2009 to serve in the see POT page 10
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Laconia-based company Mas-Con has announced a significant in-kind contribution to the fund raising drive to construct a new athletic facility at Laconia High School. Pictured here, at the construction site for the new wing of the Huot Regional Technical Education Center are, left to right, former football coach Jim Fitzgerald, City Councilor Matt Lahey, Mas-Con President Andy Bartlett, and Mas-Con employees and LHS alumni Craig and Mark Brewer. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)
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Laconia-based Mas-Con donating construction of press box & concession stand at BNH Stadium LACONIA — Owners of Mas-Con, a masonry and concrete business hired to work on the Laconia High School/Huot Technical Center expansion/renovation
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project, were receptive when approached about constructing the press box as an in-kind donation to the campaign to construct a new athletic stadium. They were
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so receptive, in fact, that they agreed to also take on the construction of a large concessions building, which will include a see MaS-CON page 10
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