Serving the Community
When The Telegraph launched the 46th annual Santa Fund in the fall of 2008, there were more families in need of assistance at a time when fewer families were in a position to help.
We knew it would be a challenge to solicit donations of money and toys at a time when people were losing their jobs, their health insurance and, in some cases, their homes. Yet every day the newspaper promoted the effort as it has for nearly a half century, profiling those in need and saluting those who gave. The fund started with a donation of $6,500 in cash and toys raised at the Telegraph-sponsored Santa Fund Run. Employees of eCopy, the document-imaging company based in Nashua, were inspired in 2007 to donate $25,000 instead of using the money for a company Christmas party, and topped that with a $30,000 donation in 2008. The donations continued throughout the holiday season.
When all the tabulating was done, the fund had fallen about $142 short of the previous year’s record of $106,748. That’s when a Telegraph editor stepped in, collected donations throughout the newsroom, and pushed the fund over the previous year to ensure a new record in a most difficult time.
Watching Out For Your Interests
When news first broke that Verizon wanted to sell all of its New Hampshire telephone and Internet service to a small company from North Carolina, the Telegraph decided to combine traditional reporting with the power of our readership to keep an eye on things. The resulting interactive project -- FairPoint Watch -- is now a year old.
We set the stage with our own investigation of a similar purchase in Hawaii two years earlier that was plagued with problems. We invited readers to share their experiences with the transition, good and bad, through online comments. More than 100 are now involved. Thanks to their help, The Telegraph has become the go-to source for information on this important shift in telecommunication services, reporting on everything from problems with automatic-payment systems, to the near collapse of the entire e-mail system in February.
Now that the state is investigating FairPoint’s performance, FairPoint Watch continues to provide the best overview of the situation, combining old-fashioned reporting with Internet tools that only recently became available. One state official lauded FairPoint Watch as a “public service,” and the New England Press Association recognized it with a first place award for “best interactive program between a newspaper and its community.”
Celebrating True Teamwork
Despite their age difference, Wilton-Lyndeborough High School basketball Player Tory Rysnik was close to his cousin, 4-year-old Hannah. For most of her life, Hannah battled two different forms of leukemia. “For Hannah’s second birthday, (Tory) and his classmates made her a beautiful card and a gorgeous quilt. Hannah used it all the time,” said her mother, Kathy Stone.
Readers of The Telegraph learned about Hannah and Tory through the reporting of sports writer Joe Marchilena.
Two days before Thanksgiving, Wilton-Lyndeborough coach Sean Young got a call from Tory; Hannah had died. Two days after Thanksgiving, at the team’s next practice, Young told his players why Tory wasn’t there and asked them to support their teammate. “I told the boys, whatever you can do,” Young said. “Josh (Tremblay) and Zach (Rolke) did a good job of coming up with ideas for us to make an impact and give back.”
The players responded by donating money themselves, then seeking donations for Elliott’s Fund, a part of the Jimmy Fund that supports research for Infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Eventually, they raised more than $1,000 to donate in Hannah’s honor, and their efforts were recognized in The Telegraph.
Recording Golden Moments
Nashua has always had a rich tradition when it comes to high school football. Longtime Nashuans still tell tales of the glorious days when Buzz Harvey’s Nashua High Purple Panthers were one of the top teams not only in the state and the region but in the country. Holman Stadium was always packed; championships were won; and the entire city came together to celebrate.
When Nashua High was split into two schools, North and South, there were fears that Nashua’s winning tradition might fade, not just in football but in all the athletic programs. Coaches encountered the sort of challenges that the legendary Harvey and his cohorts couldn’t have imagined.
But on Nov. 22, 2008, sophomore quarterback Keith Farkas threw for 255 yards, completing 17-of-21 passes, including 12 in a row at one point, while All-State running back David Zocco rushed for 122 yards and scored five touchdowns, including the overtime TD that lifted Nashua South to a 33-32 win and the city’s first Division I state football championship since the split. Nashuans shared in the celebration through the reporting and photography of The Telegraph.
Lending a Helping Hand
When SHARE bought the Knights of Columbus Hall in Milford to expand its food pantry and other services, The Cabinet was there to tell the story. During the months-long renovation and through the big moving day, we kept the community informed and supported the effort.
SHARE is one of many community based program, such as the Boys and Girls Club and Milford DO IT, that The Cabinet regularly supports and whose efforts are chronicled in these pages.
In these times, with many people are in need of a hand up, and we are here to help show them where to turn.
Shedding Light On & Off the Filed
There are some grim stories related to brain injuries suffered by athletes, such as the 2006 suicide of former NFL defensive back Andre Waters and the behavioral problems endured by former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson. Those athletes’ stories received nationwide attention.
But sports concussions are hardly confined to the rich and famous. Just ask former Souhegan football player Sean Jellison, who is now able to play for the University of New Hampshire despite suffering multiple concussions in high school. Or former Alvirne baseball player Bobby Tewksbary, whose concussion sidelined him for weeks and seriously derailed a promising rookie season with the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League.
Or Nashua trainer Jerry Holland, who works with young athletes and tries to educate players, coaches and parents on the dangers associated with head injuries.
The Telegraph’s award-winning series last spring on sports concussions brought their stories to life and helped in that education process.
We’ve Got You Covered
Nashua fire officials called it the worst fire in the last decade. The five-alarm blaze on on a cold winter’s day destroyed a downtown Nashua apartment and commercial building, displacing 30 people and creating clouds of dark smoke that could be seen for miles. More than 125 firefighters battled the blaze for more than three hours, as flames quickly spread from the first story to rooftop and then stubbornly burned in almost every spot of the old building at the corner of Lake and Vine streets.
The Telegraph was there from the first minutes, throughout the day, and stayed on the story for the days and weeks that followed, chronicling efforts to help the homeless and determine the cause of a blaze that destroyed 17 apartments and two street-level stores.
When important news breaks -- floods, elections, fires -- the residents of the Greater Nashua area turn to The Telegraph in print and online to get the details. And, they turn to The Telegraph to praise those on the front lines.
As one reader wrote in a letter we published, “I happened to see the aftermath of the fire that occurred on the corner of Lake and Vine streets. I saw extremely exhausted firefighters. Even in their exhausted state they stopped and asked my young son if he wanted a sticker and to sit in the driver’s seat of a fire truck while they were rolling up the large, yellow water hoses. Tears came to my eyes as I was so appreciative to them.”
When Nashua area residents want to celebrate and honor those who work for public safety, they turn to The Telegraph.
Your Community Watchdog
In her job as night reporter for The Telegraph, Stephanie Hooper was constantly running into people at accidents or crime scenes who complained about the conditions of their apartments and the lack of response by landlords and the city’s code enforcement division. With help from her editors, she set out on a year-long investigation of rental housing in Nashua. Her two week series, entitled “For Rent,” was published in August of 2008 and drew immediate reaction from tenants, landlords, housing advocates and code enforcement officers throughout the state.
In examining the issues facing Nashua’s rental community, The Telegraph spent months digging through hundreds of rental property files at three city departments, interviewing officials in each department, as well as local landlords and tenants. We uncovered a variety of problems, including illegal apartments with unchecked construction and wiring; limited enforcement and limited record keeping of enforcement actions; a smoke alarm testing program at multifamily properties frozenbecause of budget cuts and staffing issues; landlords struggling to maintain properties among rising evictions and vacancies; and problem tenants ruining properties and spoiling neighborhoods.
In awarding the series first place for health reporting, the judges in the New England Press Association contest described the effort as “an unflinching look at the dangerous living conditions faced by low-income renters, a subject that could easily have been overlooked. It goes beyond the shock value of the rats and roaches, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the real people involved as well as a look at how government is supposed to address such problems.”
Celebrating Acts of Kindness
For Brad Zapenas, a Nashua baseball standout, it was a dream come true. As a player for Boston College, he was in the lineup for a spring training game against the Red Sox. Before the game, Zapenas and his teammates posed for photos with the rich and famous, sought signatures on baseballs, and basked in the glow that too many big leaguers take for granted.
The next day, he visited his hometown paper’s website to check on the small story and photo that reported his experience. On another page, he read about a Nashua boy named Ryan Cavanaugh who, in his 10 years, has endured more hurt than anyone 10 times his age should endure. Ryan suffers from a genetic disorder of the connective tissue that has caused him to spend way too much time in hospitals, most recently to undergo his second open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
When Zapenas and his team returned to campus, Ryan was still on his mind. He e-mailed the boy’s mother to arrange a visit. He brought Ryan a baseball signed by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew, a BC baseball cap, and a special moment to brighten his day. On the baseball, Zapenas wrote, “Ryan, follow your dreams and never lose hope. Your friend, Brad.” It was a moment made possible by the generosity of a young man, and the reporting of The Telegraph.
Keeping You Connected
When the worst ice storm in decades hit New Hampshire two weeks before Christmas, much of the region was left powerless for days on end. The Cabinet and www.cabinet.com were there to keep the community updated on the status of power restoration and school closings, but beyond that basic information, we were also sharing some of the countless stories of people pulling together in Mother Nature’s wake.
One such story occurred at Hampshire Hills Sports and Fitness Club in Milford, which housed out-of-state crews working to restore power. There were many others, as well, from families opening their homes to neighbors to volunteers manning the Red Cross shelter at Milford High School.
Their generosity and energy were documented and celebrated in The Cabinet, which encouraged others to join the effort as well.
