Dear Casper and Bill,I'm writing to you because I am about to become a widow - again. No, I'm not mariticidal. I'm a football widow. I was so excited when I heard that there might be an NFL lockout this season, but now that it's back on, I know I'm going to lose my husband again. Every Sunday, he disappears to a bar or a flatscreen-owning friend's house to watch…

Hey, remember Natalie Turgeon, the up-and-coming country singer we wrote about back in April ("A small-town girl with a big voice," April 12, 2011)? Well, her star continues to rise, and next week she will be using that big voice at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon to perform the "Star-Spangled Banner" before the big NASCAR race!Turgeon will perform the…

Sept. 20, 1973: Attorney General Warren Rudman decides against pressing prosecution of anyone connected with Gov. Mel Thomson's Jan. 23 search of business profits tax records. But he declares the search was "illegal" and vows to prosecute if the tax search is repeated at any time while he is attorney general. The search had exploded into a controversy after Thomson directed his chief aide to peruse files belonging to allies of former governor Walter Peterson.Sept. 20, 1992: The first Sunday Monitor is published.Sept. 21, 1846: Lt. Joseph H. Potter of Concord, a West Point classmate…

Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell stumbles to his fridge, pulls out a can of Cheez-Whiz and writes out a delicious orange-yellow city memo with the cheesy goo. This week was no exception. Firemen honor 9/11we will never forgetSeveral off-duty members of the fire department participated in commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Aspell writes. Members of the department's honor guard were present at the official statewide memorial last Sunday morning, the community interfaith service at the State House Plaza, a late afternoon commemoration at the Capitol Center for…

Turtles are disappearing from the planet faster than any other group of animal. Today, nearly 50 percent of freshwater turtle species worldwide are identified as threatened with extinction. Twenty percent of the world's turtle species are found in North America and the United States has more native turtle species than anywhere on Earth; it's a turtle biodiversity hotspot. Of…

The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Creative Concord Committee, in partnership with downtown merchants and the Concord City Council, announces that sidewalk performers (or "buskers") who wish to share their talents are invited to sign up to perform at one of four locations in downtown Concord.The four approved downtown locations for performers are:The sidewalk at the opening to Eagle Square, by the clock tower.The brick alcove on North Main Street next to Merrimack County Savings Bank.The plaza between Gibson's, O Restaurant and Red River Theatres.The northwest corner of Main…