Vandals target Seacoast United Soccer Club

Now here's a story that'll get your blood boiling, especially if you're among the many soccer parents who enjoy having Seacoast United Soccer Club's spectacular field complex right in our backyard in Epping.

Vandals hit the complex this week and made a huge mess that'll cost at least $15,000 to fix. It's really sad. Declan's Fremont travel team played there on Sunday for the first time and it was perfect. The next day vandals decided to leave their mark.

Here's the scoop.

By Jason Schreiber

Union Leader Correspondent

EPPING - Vandals caused more than $15,000 in damage to a soccer field complex Monday night when they sliced apart soccer nets and large banners, fired paintballs, flipped over portable toilets and drove across one of the fields.

Police are now searching for the culprits behind the vandalism spree at Seacoast United Soccer Club’s outdoor facility on Shirkin Road.

“I don’t know if somebody was trying to be vindictive or wanted to have some fun, but it was just sickening. It’s nothing more than just a kick in the teeth,” said Paul Willis, the club’s executive director.

The damage to Field 4 was discovered late Monday afternoon when members of a team showed up for practice. As many as 14 large banners advertising the names of sponsors were cut up with a knife, along with the soccer nets. The field was littered with the banners and trash that was left behind by the vandals.

Willis said paintballs had also been shot at the shelters that cover the area where players sit. The players and staff cleaned up the mess.

“It was disappointing for the kids down at the field to come and see it. I had boys coming up to me saying, “Why would somebody do this?’” Willis said.

Police Sgt. Sean Gallagher said it was the first case of vandalism at the Seacoast United complex since it opened in Epping in 2006. The club, which has an indoor facility in Hampton, draws players from around New England who regularly use the outdoor facility, which includes four fields made from expensive artificial turf.

Gallagher said it was obvious that a vehicle had driven over Field 4. A tire mark was left on the field when the vehicle apparently accelerated. While a gate is locked at the entrance to the complex, Gallagher said he believes the vandals managed to get around the gate with the vehicle.

Police have no suspects at this time, but Seacoast United is offering a reward for information in the case.

“The damage seems more like it was from juveniles, but who knows,” Gallagher said.

The vandalism stunned parents who showed up for practices last night. “I don’t understand it. Why would somebody want to do that?” asked Lise Cheney of Bow, whose daughter plays on a U11 team.

Parent Karen Stevens of Londonderry had the same questions. Not only did they cause thousands in damage, but the vandals also “hurt the kids who play here because it disrupted their time.”

Christine Eichholz of Stratham said the club has done so much for the community, noting how it has tried to be a good neighbor by allowing Epping and Fremont teams to use the fields.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is urged to call Epping police at 679-5122.

All Aboard! GMA coming to Exeter

I'm still trying to nail down the details, but I've heard that the crew from "Good Morning America" will be making a stop in Exeter on Sept. 24 on their "Whistle Stop" tour. They're visiting several states on an antique train in the weeks leading up to the presidential primary. In the end, the crew will have visited all 50 states over the next 50 days. I'm researching the details of the stop for a story I'm writing, so I'll post here just in case someone wants to check out the crew when they arrive.

Coffin for sale: $150

If you drive along Route 107 in Fremont you've probably noticed a very creepy item for sale on the side of the road. For the past couple of weeks a pine box coffin has been sitting outside a residence near the Poplin Cafe, waiting for a taker. It's wide open with a For Sale sign on it. The coffin carries a price tag of $150. I must admit the coffin is tempting with Halloween around the corner, but I don't think my wife would appreciate it sitting on my front lawn. It could make a good birthday gift for someone turning 40. If you're interested, call 895-9470.

Warning to telemarketers: Don't mess with me

I finally did it. I called the cops on a telemarketing firm that was really ticking me off. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been getting these calls that show up on caller ID as "Chartered Marketing." They started a few weeks ago and they seemed to come at least once a day. The problem is that when I answered to tell them not to call again, there was never another person on the other end. It was completely dead. I put up with this for three weeks, and finally blew my stack. I don't even know why I waited for three weeks to fight back.
Anyhow, last week I called the number back from caller ID and I blasted the supervisor. I told her that if I got another call from them that I would be contacting local authorities to report them for phone harassment. My argument: When there's no one there for you to tell not to call again, it makes it difficult for you to put a stop to the repeated calls, which I now considered to be harassment. The supervisor told me that it could take up to a month for my phone number to be removed from the system. Still, I warned her that I would be calling the cops if another call came.

Well, sure enough, the next day, at 5 p.m., right as I was attempting to sit down to dinner, the call came. I immediately picked up the phone, and when no one was there to reply, I hung up and called police. I never expected an officer to come to my house to take a report, but within 10 minutes he was knocking on my door. You can imagine the look on my wife's face when the police pulled in to speak with me about a telemarketer. "Just don't answer the phone," she'd tell me. Well, I have a hard time letting this type of stuff slide. I was too annoyed not to do something.

I explained the situation to the officer and provided the telemarketer's phone number. He said he would contact them to see about putting a stop to the calls. Whatever he said must have worked because I haven't received a call since. Sometimes you have to take drastic steps to restore order in your house. The constant calls just added to the mayhem in my house filled with the sounds of sibling battles over who got the bigger pancake or the most crackers.

While the telemarketing calls have stopped, the political polling ones are now starting. Tonight I got one from some group of Democrats. I didn't answer. Hopefully I won't have to call the cops on them.

Lawsuit over student's suicide dismissed

For the past several months I've been covering this tragic case in Raymond of a student who killed himself one day after school following his suspension. The case raised many questions about whether a school and its teachers can be held legally responsible for a suicide. Take a look and see if you agree with the judge, who has now dismissed the case.

By Jason Schreiber
Union Leader Correspondent

RAYMOND - A judge has dismissed a wrongful death suit against the Raymond School District and a teacher, saying they can’t be blamed for the death of a middle school student who hanged himself after problems at school.

Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh found that neither the school district nor former special education teacher Susan Allen are legally responsible for seventh-grader Joshua Markiewicz’s death in January 2005.

Markiewicz, then 13-year-old student at Iber Holmes Gove Middle School, used a belt to hang himself in his bedroom closet after he was suspended from school. Before the suicide, he wrote notes on his forearm that said, “I hate Ms. Allen,” “Death,” and “I hope she suffers.”

The suit brought by the boy’s mother, Heidi Mikell of Deerfield, accused the school district and its teachers of branding her son as a troublemaker and driving him to kill himself.

“Whenever a 13-year-old child commits suicide that is a most tragic event. There can be many causes for such action and it is difficult to identify them after the fact. There is a natural tendency for loved ones to want to assess blame against any and all persons that may have interacted with the decedent in a negative way prior to his death. However, legal responsibility is something that cannot be left to speculation or wishful thinking. Here the facts as a matter of law do not translate into legal responsibility for either Susan Allen or School Administrative Unit 33 with respect to the death of Joshua Markiewicz,” McHugh wrote in his Sept. 3 order, which was made available to the public this week.

The lawsuit claimed that the suicide might have stemmed partly from an incident Joshua had with Allen on the day before his death. On that day, Allen accused Joshua of referring to two candy mints as “medicine.” Joshua denied making the statement.

According to the lawsuit, Allen “winked” at him as she reported the incident to the school’s vice principal, suggesting that she lied about the medicine statement and the wink was an attempt to make Joshua realize that he had no power. Joshua insisted that it was Allen who referred to the mints as medicine.

The lawsuit also claimed that Joshua had made suicidal threats at school in the weeks before his death, but McHugh found no evidence to suggest that Allen knew about those threats on the day of the incident with the mints. McHugh wrote that Allen could no have reason to believe that her interaction with Joshua on the day before the suicide would have resulted in his death the next day.

Joshua wasn’t suspended over the mint incident and returned to school the next day. “It was the incident that took place on the day of his death … January, 19, 2005, that would seem to have been much more likely to have caused (Joshua) to make the decision to take his life. On that morning the decedent tipped over a desk and allegedly called his teacher a bitch. It was for that conduct that he was suspended and his mother was asked to pick him up. The decedent then committed suicide at his home a few hours later,” McHugh wrote.

The ruling also addressed Joshua’s suicide notes. The fact that Joshua “left a suicide note claiming he hated everyone and further that he wrote Ms. Allen’s name on his arm and professed his hatred for her has no relevance to the court’s judgment in determining whether or not the conduct of Ms. Allen on January 18, 2005, could have reasonably fit into the category of intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Middle school guidance counselor Lindy Moule had also been named as a defendant in the suit, but the court recently dismissed her from the case. It was unclear yesterday whether Mikell would appeal. Neither Mikell’s lawyer, William B. Pribis, nor Allen’s lawyer, John P. Fagan, returned phone calls seeking comment. Mikell has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached yesterday.

One rough ride in a hot air balloon

The hot air balloon sits on the ground after landing in Sandown Friday morning.

I always thought it'd be fun to take a ride in a hot air balloon someday...then I had to cover a story on a balloon that had an unexpected "hard landing" last weekend and left a passenger with some pretty serious injuries. I still think it could be a great experience, but it's good to know the risks.

By Jason Schreiber

Union Leader Correspondent

SANDOWN - Ralph Avery was given a hot air balloon ride for his Father’s Day gift, but his ride yesterday didn’t end quite the way he expected after he was injured when the balloon landed hard in a resident’s backyard.

Avery, 63, of East Bridgewater, Mass., was one of seven people riding in the yellow smiley face balloon from Derry-based High 5 Ballooning when it landed in an open area behind a home at 105 Main St.

Fire officials said Avery suffered ankle injuries when the balloon landed harder than expected. Avery was transported to Parkland Medical Center in Derry for treatment.

Fire Chief Bill Tapley said he didn’t know the extent of Avery’s injuries. “He was in good spirits. I think he just twisted his ankles,” he said. Avery could not be reached comment.

Tony Sica, the owner of the balloon company who was piloting the balloon, said the winds picked up unexpectedly, causing the landing to be harder than usual.

“Most landings are soft, but when the winds pick in a balloon, you’re going to have a hard landing,” Sica said.

As he prepared for landing, Sica said he tried to slow the balloon by lowering it into the treetops.

The balloon left yesterday morning from Salem. A hot air balloon pilot for 13 years, Sica said he checked the weather conditions before taking off and everything looked good.

“There was no indication that there would be adverse wind conditions,” he said.

Sica warned the passengers to brace for a hard landing when he realized that the wind would make it tough. “When the winds pick up you draw on your experiences as a pilot to get the passengers down as safely as you can,” he said.

Main Street neighbor Jean Martin was inside his house getting ready to work in his garage when the balloon landed. When the balloon finally came to a stop, Martin went over to check on the passengers. He said he saw a man, later identified as Avery, having trouble standing up. “I felt bad for him,” he said of Avery, “but it’s just one of those things.”

Rescuing lifeguards are revealed

I must apologize for failing to identify the lifeguard in the photo I posted Sunday after the skydiver was rescued during a skydiving demonstration by Skydive New England over Hampton Beach. My story was posted on the New Hampshire Union Leader's Web site, http://www.unionleader.com/, and several people wanted to know who the lifeguards were. Actually, it seems the women who commented were more interested in being rescued by hunky lifeguards.

I have since learned that there were three lifeguards involved in this rescue. The lifeguard in my photo, which, by the way, appeared last night on WMUR-TV, was Nick Africano. He managed to find my blog and posted a comment explaining what happened. Here's what he had to say.
"It's awesome you were there to catch that story and great timing with the picture. I want to give some credit to the guards who got to him well before I did. When he landed in the water two guards swam out for him, Dan Ryan and Pat Murphy. They made first contact and made sure he was OK until I got to him with a rescue board."

Thanks for providing more details, Nick. There was such a large crowd on the beach that I lost sight of the rescuing lifeguards as I was trying to interview the skydiver. With deadline approaching, I had to rush to get the story done and the photo sent in, so I didn't have time to track down the lifeguards that night. Hopefully I'll be able to follow up with them to give them proper credit in the newspaper.

Oops! Winds blow skydiver off course

Here's my shot of a lifeguard high-fiving the skydiver he rescued from the ocean off Hampton Beach.

So I took Kathy and the kids to see the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival this afternoon. I covered it for the paper yesterday and was just amazed at all the delicious seafood at reasonable prices and the entertainment and other fun stuff, so I figured they'd enjoy it. Plus, a skydiving demonstration was planned for the afternoon and I knew the kids would dig that.

The highlight of the afternoon was, of course, the skydivers. Watching them being dropped from the sky over Hampton Beach was amazing. But it seems the news follows me everywhere. With thousands watching on, one of the skydivers got blown into the ocean. It was quite a sight seeing this poor skydiver landing about a half-mile out in the ocean instead of the beach, which is where he was supposed to end up.

Luckily I had my pen, reporter's notebook, and camera to capture it all, leaving the family in the dust.

For more details, read the story below.

By Jason Schreiber

Union Leader Correspondent

HAMPTON - Thousands of spectators watching a skydiving demonstration at Hampton Beach got quite a scare yesterday when strong winds blew one of the skydivers about a half-mile out into the ocean.

Skydiver Fred Cotreau was dropped from the plane buzzing over the crowded beach and said he knew he was in trouble within a matter of minutes. He was supposed to land on the beach like the others, but the wind pushed him too far out.

Many in the crowd gasped as the 43-year-old Cotreau dropped into the rough ocean waters stirred up by Tropical Storm Hanna. A lifeguard rushed into the water to rescue Cotreau, who escaped injury.

Cotreau, co-owner of Skydive New England, was among 11 skydivers who performed in the demonstration around 5 p.m. yesterday as part of the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival.

“I was trying to get home,” a soaked Cotreau announced to the crowd as people cheered his safe return to the beach.

In his 18 years of skydiving, Cotreau said this was the first time he’s ever had a water landing. The incident frightened spectators who feared that he would become tangled up in his parachute and drown.

When she realized that he had missed the landing, Kendra Ferm of Raymond said she worried about whether he could swim, especially in the ocean swells.

Others thought the ocean landing was part of the plan. “Initially we thought it was part of the act, but it was obvious when the lifeguard went out that someone was in trouble. It’s scary stuff,” said Maurice Consoli of Groveland, Mass.

Cell phones and gas pumps don't mix

You learn something new everyday, and last week I was shocked to learn that using a cell phone while pumping gas could create a hazard,

I haven't researched this to find out why it's so dangerous, but I happened to actually read the warning sign posted on the gas pump...you know, the one that warns you to shut your car off when you pump, don't light up ... stuff like that.

Anyhow, I noticed that one of the recommendations was to avoid cell phone use. Can a cell phone really cause a gas explosion if you use it while pumping? If there's an expert out there in cell phone usage and potential gas station infernos, please shed some light.

One batty burglary

Thieves who broke into an Epping residence under the cover of darkness may have a bat to thank for keeping the homeowners sound asleep during their burglary.
Police said the couple didn’t hear a thing when the thieves broke in and stole their 52-inch TV and other belongings, possibly because they closed their bedroom door earlier in the night to keep a bat from flying in while they slept.
The couple usually leaves their bedroom door open at night, but they had closed it on the night of the burglary after they were up late trying unsuccessfully to get a bat out of the main part of the house.
Officers were called to the Jenness Road residence just before 4 a.m. on Sept. 1 when the homeowners eventually awoke and discovered the burglary.
Police Chief Gregory Dodge said the thieves entered the house after removing a screen from a front window.
The homeowners were sleeping at the time of the break-in but were later awakened by their barking dog.
When the husband went to bring the dog outside, he discovered the TV was gone.
“They heard nobody come in and nobody leave. They were reacting to the dog barking,” Dodge said.
Given the size of the TV, Dodge said it appears that more than one thief was involved in the burglary.
In addition to the TV, a knife and digital camera were also taken. The female homeowner’s purse was also found emptied out in the backyard with items taken, Dodge said.
It seems the thieves were careful not to make too much racket. Dodge said they removed items that were sitting on a shelf near the window and placed them in the back yard so that they wouldn’t knock them over. Dodge described the burglary as unusual, saying it’s uncommon for thieves to break in while the homeowners are inside.
Detectives recovered evidence from the scene, including fingerprints that are currently bring processed. Dodge said police have suspects.
Police have received no other reports of either daytime or nighttime burglaries in the Jenness Road area.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call the Epping Police Department’s Detective Division at 679-5122.