Medical center gets OK on expansion

LEBANON (AP) — A New Hampshire medical center received the green light for a $130 million expansion at one of its campuses.

The construction of the new tower at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Lebanon campus was approved Monday and faced questions about how to handle traffic from the proposed expansion and other nearby developments, the Valley News reported.

The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the construction of the approximately 200,000-square-foot, five-story tower.

The proposed tower could have as many 112 new beds and is expected to draw an additional 270 vehicles an hour during peak hours to the state’s only academic medical center, a traffic study commissioned by Dartmouth-Hitchcock stated.

Planners worry the hospital’s expansion will pose problems for the Route 120 corridor even though traffic engineers have deemed the effect on surrounding roads as “insignificant.”

Dartmouth-Hitchcock disclosed the project will be financed through a combination of equity, fundraising and bonds.

Police sergeant accused in 7-year-old vehicle pursuit

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A police sergeant in New Hampshire was arrested in connection with a 7-year-old vehicle pursuit in the town where he works and lives, the attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

Michael Verrocchi, 41, of Salem, was charged with felony reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and a misdemeanor count of disobeying an officer. He’s employed with Salem Police Department and is on administrative leave.

Verrocchi was accused of failing to stop for a police officer in a Jeep Cherokee on Route 28 in November 2012. Police said he fled and engaged in a pursuit over two miles during which he ran a red light and avoided spike strips. His vehicle constituted a “deadly weapon”under the law.

Verrocchi was a police officer at the time and he was off-duty, the attorney general’s office said.

He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 30 in Rockingham County Superior Court.

Verrocchi has been part of an investigation by the attorney general’s office following the release of a police department audit last year. The audit recommended new written policies for the handling of citizen complaints and more closely monitoring hours officers worked.

It wasn’t immediately known if Verrocchi had a lawyer, and a number couldn’t be found for him.

Police: Officer at fault in collision with pickup truck

PORTSMOUTH (AP) — A New Hampshire police officer was at fault for a crash that injured himself and damaged another vehicle, state police said.

Portsmouth police said the 39-year-old officer, Thompson Potter, was traveling north on the Route 1 Bypass at about 12:50 p.m. Jan. 2 when his cruiser collided with a truck traveling east, the Portsmouth Herald reported. Potter was responding to an unrelated reported disorderly conduct incident at another location, police said.

Potter suffered a minor shoulder injury in the crash, and will not be cited. The other driver reported no injuries.

Potter, who had his siren and lights on, failed to yield to oncoming traffic at an intersection where he had a red light and the other driver had a green light, State Police Lt. John Hennessey said.

Officers are allowed to proceed with care through red lights, Henessey said.

Portsmouth police will conduct their own review, Police Chief Robert Merner said.

USDA designates eight N.H. counties as natural disaster areas

CONCORD (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated eight counties in New Hampshire as primary natural disaster areas.

The designation is in response to the fluctuating temperatures in all but two of state’s counties this past year, which has left farmers with poor conditions for crops, New Hampshire Public Radio reported Tuesday.

Farmers in the designated counties saw at least a 30% loss of alfalfa, raspberry or blueberry crops.

The farmers and producers who have been impacted or suffered losses from the cold and temperature fluctuations last winter and early spring are eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Carl Majewski, a field specialist at the Cheshire County University of New Hampshire’s extension office, said what is happening in these counties is supported by climate science and that winters are getting milder.

Those impacted can apply for emergency loans through the farm service agency through Aug. 17.