Concord Monitor from Concord, New Hampshire • 1

FOOD D1 NATION WORLD A2 US flexes muscle in Gulf LOCAL STATE B1 Cat thrown from car at Fort Eddy gluten-free feasts fl Concord Monitor A A II Ml II 50C WEDNESDAY MARCH 28 2007 concordmonitorcom CONCORD NEW HAMPSHIRE DOVER Miss New Hampshire snuffed out STATE HOUSE Effort to ban greyhound racing fails Votes wide margin surprises both sides with tobacco industry giant RJ Reynolds and distributing a company anti-smoking pamphlet with and mixed messages on Hughes 23 of Gilmanton is one of 40 Miss States to participate in RJ Decisions Right educational program The company pays Miss States $250 an appearance to give presen- See HUGHES A5 her educational program to Dover students after learning Hughes was being paid by a tobacco company to give talks to middle school students about smoking In an e-mail message he sent yesterday Dover Prevention Coordinator Dana Mitchell cancelled planned visit to Dover Middle School scheduled as part of the Mitchell criticized Hughes for failing to disclose her relationship School cancels speech because of tobacco ties By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ Monitor staff Miss New Hampshire Emily Hughes holds a degree in education and won her title promoting a platform of But a Dover school official has asked her not to bring Emily Hughes be speaking at Dover Middle School By ERIC MOSKOWITZ Monitor staff The House rejected a bill yesterday that would have shut down the three greyhound tracks by mid-2009 The 198-138 margin surprised both sides New Hampshire is one of 16 states with live greyhound racing Past attempts to shut the tracks here failed to gain traction but racing opponents who mounted a significant campaign to inform lawmakers about the treatment of dogs and the relatively modest revenue live racing provides the state thought this year would be different Racing supporters said opponents overstated the treatment of the dogs and failed to account for the 500 people who work full-time or part-time jobs at New three dog tracks in Hinsdale Belmont and Seabrook They also said the ban might create a glut of homeless greyhounds Several racing opponents brought their rescued greyhounds to the State House for a last-minute appeal greeting lawmakers yesterday with dogs clad in blankets urging support for the bill Afterward racing opponents said they were stunned by the 60-vote margin was quite said Paul LaFlamme a former lawmaker from Nashua who serves as a board member for Grey2K a Massachusetts-based group that advocates for racing bans nationwide thought we actually were going to have it pretty David Calef a spokesman for the Hinsdale track said he was and pleased that it was not as close as we thought I think somewhere along the line people Kindergarten could come to all schools By SARAH LIEBOWITZ Monitor staff Kindergarten could soon come to all New Hampshire school districts bringing the state in line with the rest of the nation Yesterday the House voted to include half-day kindergarten in the definition of an adequate education The decision moves lawmakers a step closer to meeting a court-ordered deadline for defining a constitutionally adequate education is not just a sound educational policy it is a sound fiscal said Rep Judith Reever a Laconia Democrat and former member of the Laconia School Board Research points to the educational and behavioral benefits of kindergarten she said the question should be: Can we afford not to have But the bill which laid out a definition of an adequate education spurred impassioned criticism from Republicans who said the measure would usurp local authority and cost millions of dollars The bill said Rep Sharon Car-son tells residents that are taking away your vote in your The proposal amounts to unfunded added Carson a Londonderry Republican Although the vast majority of New Hampshire school districts KEN WILLIAMS Monitor staff Workers install air ducts in the atrium of the new Merrimack County Nursing Home which is still under construction BOSCAWEN County home rises to new heights See KINDERGARTEN A6 See GREYHOUNDS A6 the dust and scaffolding a little fancier than I thought it would said Administrator Bob Chase try to make it as home like as possible but you have to balance it out because talking about a much more acute County taxpayers will begin repaying the construction bond with the next round of tax bills See HOME A6 community activities The glassed-in roof peaks airy atrium and family-style kitchens exude an alpine-lodge feel Hallways are wide enough for wheelchairs and medical carts to pass rooms come with storage closets for walkers and other equipment and each floor includes additional space for therapy and family meetings Last Friday silhouettes of nurses stations dining rooms and a reception area stood amid changes in elder care where intricate illnesses will be managed in a homier environment When finished next spring the $46 million 220000-square-foot building will be equipped to care for residents with dementia kidney failure multiple joint replacements and other conditions that were rare in nursing homes until a decade ago Designers also hope to dilute the institutional setting with cozy rooms and space for New building aims for greater comfort By MEG HECKMAN Monitor staff Residents move into Merrimack new nursing home for another year but the building emerging from a Boscawen hillside is already a brick-and-beam example of TILTON NORTHFIELD WASHINGTON DC Senate backs deadline for troop withdrawal Did somebody rob the Little League? KEN WILLIAMS Monitor staff Linda Miranda keeps a grip on her greyhounds named Manny Joshua Glamour and Oliveoyl as opponents of greyhound racing rallied in front of the State House yesterday The House voted to continue to allow racing at the state's three greyhound tracks in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief Republican attempts to scuttle the nonbinding timeline failed 50-48 largely along party lines The vote marked the most forceful challenge to date of the administration's handling of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3200 US troops It See SENATE A6 Bush vows to veto war spending bill By DAVID ESPO The Associated Press The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support yesterday for the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by next March triggering an instant veto threat from the White House Search warrant is issued but no arrests By LAUREN DORGAN Monitor staff Thousands of dollars are missing and feared stolen from the coffers of the Tilton Northfield Little League according to the police Investigators executed a search warrant in the case yesterday at a residence on Sandog-ardy Pond Road but have not made any arrests said acting police chief Stephen Adams Adams said about $25000 is missing but a league repre sentative said the amount missing from the Tilton-Northfield Little League's treasury is far less than that Adams said his department turned its part of the investigation records are with the police right now" Larry Prince acting treasurer of Tilton-Northfield Little League over to the attorney general's office because a Northfield police officer is married to an officer of the baseball league The Tilton police are also looking into the case he said Tilton-Northfield: Some of it happened Tilton some of it happened in Northfield Adams said Last mghL investigators from See LEAGUE A6 LEGISLATORS KEEP ON LEGISLATIN' Our elected officials were busy yesterday In addition to voting to keep greyhound racing and to add kindergarten to the definition of an adequate education members of the House of Representatives voted to: Reject a bill eliminating New Hampshire's death penalty Eliminate straight-ticket voting in state elections Reject an effort to outlaw the so-called Require children 12 years old and younger to wear life jackets when riding boats Allow owners of egg-laying hens to continue to keep their birds in cages so small that they spread their wings Stories B1 COOLER Windy partly sunny clear tonight high 50 low 25 Brenda Brooks 8 of Wotfeboro draws the day B6 For (fatly delivery.