For several years now, I have been writing for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. I very much enjoy returning to my journalism roots for these assignments and writing for a daily paper that is well-respected in the community. As a relatively new resident of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I am also enjoying the chance to meet new people.

This is a story about a little girl with a rare genetic disorder whose parents are fundraising in hopes there will one day be a treatment they can afford. Read it here.

The post Hope for Livi: One family’s commitment to raising awareness, preparing for eventual treatment appeared first on Beetle Press.

For several years now, I have been writing for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. I very much enjoy returning to my journalism roots for these assignments and writing for a daily paper that is well-respected in the community. As a relatively new resident of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I am also enjoying the chance to meet new people.

This is a story about Beans & Greens Farm helping staff and customers by staying open year-round. Read it here.

This is a sidebar about the Easter bunny visiting Beans & Greens Farm. Read it here.

The post Staying open year-round has helped Beans & Greens farm retain staff appeared first on Beetle Press.

I started my career as a journalist in 1985 at what was then called the Springfield Union-News. I was a part-time correspondent, covering two small towns in Western Massachusetts. We got paid by the word, so I wrote long stories!

I loved my job and felt important.

Later, I shifted into full-time reporting at the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Over about eight years, before I started having children, I covered four communities, wrote feature stories, covered accidents and events, and learned so much about things from zoning laws to budgets to laser surgery.

I worked with editors who were excellent writers and mentors, and I loved my work. Today, I still write for the Springfield paper, now called The Republican, and I work well with editors at the Gazette, who pick up releases I send for clients.

Now, I’m excited that I am forging a relationship with a third daily, the Laconia Daily Sun, in Laconia, New Hampshire.

I began writing features for the paper about four or five years ago, and going forward, expect I will be writing more regularly. I’ve been asked to report on three specific communities and write features, and that feels like returning to my roots.

I value that the Sun is a top-notch paper with solid staff members who are compassionate, solutions-minded, and have a nose for news. (Here’s a story I recently wrote about the Sun’s anniversary and staff team.)

What also excites me is I will continue meeting people in the Lakes Region, where I live near both my brothers and my mom. So far, through my work as a journalist up here, I have met and interviewed community volunteers, police fire and rescue workers, marina and restaurant owners, mountain bicyclists—all kinds of people.

It’s great to be telling their stories and expanding a new network a few hours north of my 30-year network in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts—where I visit several times a month to keep those ties strong.

I will occasionally send you some links to Sun stories.

If you need help telling your story, I’m all ears. Be in touch!

The post Going Back to my Roots appeared first on Beetle Press.

Courtesy photo

For several years now, I have been writing for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. I very much enjoy returning to my journalism roots for these assignments and writing for a daily paper that is well-respected in the community. As a relatively new resident of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I am also enjoying the chance to meet new people.

This is a story about four social activists and their extraordinary efforts to help children suffering in Ukraine. You can read it here.

The post Benefit concert one step in reaching $10M fundraising goal for Ukraine appeared first on Beetle Press.

Photo credit: Jon Decker/The Laconia Daily Sun

For several years now, I have been writing for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. I have gotten to know well both the publishers and the editorial leaders, so it was my pleasure recently to write a story about the paper’s COVID-delayed celebration of its 20^th anniversary, its mission, and its staff—and its vision going into the next 20 years. I also wrote a sidebar on the history of the paper.

You can find the main story here.

And the sidebar on the Sun’s history is here.

The post The Sun’s success revolves around its staff appeared first on Beetle Press.

I frequently write feature stories for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. This one, on women mountain bikers, ran on the front page about a week ago.

Tania Lillak is pushing 51, but she still likes to push herself to her limits on a mountain bike.

She started trail riding when she was a teenager in Toronto and only started serious downhill mountain biking about seven years ago, when she and her family discovered Highland Mountain Bike Park in Northfield. Pretty much every weekend, you can catch Lillak launching her bike into the air, flying over 20- and 30-foot gaps and landing hard but steady on the other side.

“We’re definitely a crazy bunch up there at Highland,” Lillak says.

The ergonomics consultant has broken both of her collarbones, in two separate falls, but she keeps driving through the fear each time she tries something new on a trail because she loves the rush the sport gives her. 

She and her husband, Brett Laker, and their 16-year-old son Brody Laker ride all over the country, and they have ridden in Canada and Europe. But they spend most weekends at Highland Mountain—even though it’s 90 minutes from their home in Swampscott, Massachusetts, and they must stay overnight in a hotel to ride both weekend days.

Not just a guy sport anymore

Lillak is one of hundreds of women who ride at Highland Mountain, and over the past five or six years, she has seen the gender balance at the park shift from almost entirely men to now roughly 20 percent women, 80 percent men.

These numbers mirror the trend across the country that began when top female mountain bikers like Katie Holden, Rebecca Rusch, and Jill Kintner launched an intense, week-long riding camp for women. 

In their adventure, called Formation, these hard-core racers prepare courses on rugged and treacherous desert landscapes in Virgin, Utah—terrain formerly championed only by men in the famous Red Bull Rampage—and barrel down them to claim victory.

Events like Formation, and the kinds of opportunities Highland Mountain and other mountain parks are offering specifically for women, are removing barriers to the sport for females, helping them wrestle with and conquer their fears and leveling the course.

“The sport’s become more inviting to women,” Lillak says. “It’s exploded over the past couple of years with a lot more women coming to Highland. For many years, I was one of the only women I could see when I went riding there. I knew there were three other women a few years ago, but we didn’t ride together.”

Lillak rode with Brett and Brody, but now all three of them ride with their own friends. “There’s a women’s culture there,” she says. “We say ‘hi’ to women we see in the lodge or in the line or on the trails. We help each other out if we want to try new things. That’s definitely been huge in helping women feel more comfortable.” 

The trainings Highland offers have also helped remove fear as a barrier for women. Still, the sport isn’t for everyone, Lillak says. “I think it’s maybe more your personality, whether you’re a risk-taker,” she says. “This is an adrenalin sport. You are going to have to feel fear to get the full feeling of doing drops or jumps or steep technical moves.”

James Willette, the park’s marketing and content manager, says, “It’s great to see women and families here and not just the guy who’s going to go upside down 20 feet in the air. One of our biggest focuses is inclusion. No matter what background you come from, there’s something for you here.”

Amanda Vansant, a coach at Highland Park, says “I absolutely appreciate that more women are entering the sport. The more women that are involved, the more we can all push each other to our potential abilities and progression. Without any competition and comradery, there would be no incentive for progression.” 

About Highland Mountain

Bikers come from all over the country to ride at Highland—and some have visited from overseas. 

Training director Chris Chmielewski says the park’s mission is providing world-class terrain for all ability levels and instruction for all levels of riders. With that goal in mind, the Find Your Ride Program offers a package deal for newcomers to experience the thrill of mountain biking. 

For women, Highland hosts Women’s Gravity Weekend each spring. This June, Chmielewski said 80 women took part over the two days. 

Another women’s event in the fall is the Women’s Freeride Festival; the 11th annual offering took place several weeks ago. Chmielewski says that three-hour clinics are offered both weekend days in the morning and afternoon. “Women can sign up for one or all or just come and get a half-priced lift pass and half-priced rental and do the Find Your Ride Program,” he says.

Clinics this year focused on core fundamental skills, balance points, ranges of motion on changing terrain, and how to approach drop-offs and getting air—or jumping. 

“The Women’s Freeride Fest is a celebration of women in the sport,” Chmielewski says, noting the program is a good feeder program for the park; many women keep coming back.

“We’ve continued to see more women on a daily basis, more families with little boys and little girls who are now regulars at the park,” he says.

People tend to think of mountain biking as an extreme sport for adrenalin junkies. “We’re very aware of that, and we work hard to break down that reputation,” Chmielewski adds. “We have incredible free ride bikers, but we have a range of opportunities. When you come and see lots of women, couples riding together, whole families, it does look a lot more approachable and welcoming than just seeing guys doing crazy stuff.”

Women helping Women

Having women coaches at Highland Mountain helps with the approachability factor. 

Amanda Vansant was one of this season’s trainers, offering introductory downhill lessons, coaching kid’s camps, giving private lessons, and coaching women’s specific programs such as the Women’s Gravity Weekend and the festival.

A rider herself for the past four years, Vansant enjoys progressing in the sport, and in her work, she loved helping other women do the same. “The improvements and empowerment that comes along with that progression I saw in my group members throughout the clinics was absolutely incredible,” she says.

“My favorite thing about helping other women enter the sport is to see them fall in love with the same aspects of mountain biking that I have fallen in love with. I see women every day gaining confidence in their mental and physical abilities through the sport, confidence that is often there but just needs to be uncovered with the encouragement and modeling of another female rider.” 

Getting started

When rider Tania Lillak started biking in Canada as a teen, she bought a Marin bike with no suspension and set off on trails in the woods.

Back then, there were no mountains or parks offering lifts for downhill riders; if you wanted to ride down, you had to also ride up. “I really liked the feeling of being in nature, outdoors, being on a bike and going fast,” she says. “I liked being able to ride with other people in a group doing something we all enjoyed.” 

Lillak first went downhilling in Vermont in 2014; when they had some experience in their spokes, they went to Highland, which has a reputation for difficulty and being the best around.

Once the family had conquered the green trails and had some skill and experience, Brody challenged his mother to do some jumping. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m kind of old, and I’m not sure I want to do that,’” Lillak says. “Before I knew it, I was doing little jumps, and then I was doing big jumps, and now I do a lot of big jumps.

“It’s a fun passion for all of us.”

Sidebar:

Highland Mountain Bike Park offers information on its website about its offerings for women and its Find Your Ride Program:

Women’s Gravity Weekend  https://www.highlandmountain.com/camps-lessons/camps/womens-progams/gravity-weekend/

Women’s Freeride Festival https://www.highlandmountain.com/camps-lessons/camps/womens-progams/womens-freeride-fest/

Highland Is Home Video series, a women’s perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqpwiE_ScFg&t=31s

Find Your Ride Program https://www.highlandmountain.com/camps-lessons/lessons/beginner-lessons-find-your-ride/find-your-ride/

As coach Amanda Vansant says, “Hope to see all you wonderful, shredding ladies out on the trails soon, no matter your ability level!”

For more information, visit www.highlandmountain.com or call 603-286-7677. 

The post Writing about Women Mountain Bikers for a Local Paper appeared first on Beetle Press.

Note: I build relationships with writers and editors of local newspapers in part by writing for them on a freelance basis. For several years, I have been writing stories for the editors of the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. This piece highlights the shortage of dock space this summer—a problem created by a boating boon after COVID-19; it ran in mid-August.

As businesspeople, Andrea Harper and her husband, Jerry Harper Jr., know to pay attention to shifts and trends in the community. They’re good listeners, and their skills paid off again last year as they got wind of a shortage of boat slips in the Lakes Region.

Jerry runs Ledgefarm Station LLC, an auto and marine repair business in Meredith for over 20 years, and as boat sales picked up locally, he was hearing from customers and colleagues that boat storage was not easy to come by.

“We also knew through social media,” explains Andrea, noting that she and Jerry saw cries for help on Facebook, particularly on the I Love Winnipesaukee and I Boat Winnipesaukee pages.

“Does anyone know of any available slips?” the posts were apt to say.

“There was definitely a need,” Andrea Harper says. “We knew we could provide storage and that would help these people who can’t find slips and docks.”

To meet the demand, the Harpers founded Jenness Hill Auto and Marine Storage LLC in Meredith—with Andrea wearing the hats of co-owner and office manager. Since the business opened in September 2020, the Harpers have been offering both summer and winter storage of cars, boats, personal watercraft, motorcycles, and even a few bob houses.

They’ve got roughly 100 vehicles on the first floor of their 20,000-square-foot space and room for 100 motorcycles and 100 personal watercraft on the second floor. They also have space outside the building, and they are providing overflow storage for 60 boats from four area marinas.

“We have capacity for another 200 for outside winter storage,” Harper says.

Boaters swing over whenever they want to go out on the water. They put their boat and trailer on the back of a vehicle and drive to a launch; the closest one to Jenness Hill is in Meredith.

“It’s a cost-effective solution,” says Harper.

Other inventive measures

In addition to storing boats that owners can pick up, tow away, and launch, several dozen marinas on the water also offer what’s called valet boat storage—and they started providing the service long before the pandemic rocked the boating industry.

Boaters pay a fee to leave their watercraft in storage near the shore; boats are not on trailers but instead the hulls are stacked on supports, or racks. When boat owners want to head out on the water, they call ahead.

“They call an hour in advance, and we have the boat in the water when they arrive,” said Bill Irwin, owner of Irwin Marine. “They use their boat. They bring it back, and we pull it out and put it back on the rack.”

Irwin adds, “We’ve done this for many years. I think people are happy. It’s a way for people who don’t need a full boat slip and just want to use it for the day.”

In addition to the benefit of simply having a place to store your boat—without worrying about getting it from land to water—Irwin said other positives are that valet service keeps the boat’s hull cleaner, and there are no hassles that crop up in transportation.

Watching the forklift

Moving a boat from land to sea sans trailer is not for the faint of heart.

If you hang around a busy marina like Irwin long enough on a summer day, you’ll have the chance to watch a boat make the short journey from the storage unit into the water, and it’s a pretty neat feat.

A sturdy truck with forks—or tines—that are several dozen feet long, pulls up to the storage unit and lines itself up with the boat to be moved. Very gently, the truck’s driver slips the tines under the boat.

Some boats are stored on second- and third-floor spaces, and when that’s the case, the tines lift up to the boat’s height, and then the tines slide under.

When the boat’s weight is on the forklift, the truck begins a slow passage to an open dock space, and once there, the boat is slowly lowered into the water. A second marina employee, standing at the ready, ties the boat up, and poof, it’s time for an outing.

Irwin said valet service is offered at Irwin’s Laconia location from May 15 through Columbus Day each year. He preferred not to talk cost but said the service is less than having a slip.

This year, Irwin’s had about 40 boat owners using valet. “It’s another way to get your boat in the water and enjoy the lake,” Irwin adds, noting that these days, it’s difficult to find empty dock slips, and it’s also a puzzle for developers to site new ones, given a shortage of shorefront and a lot of restrictions on use.

The unaffected

Gilford Yacht Club is one marina that is unaffected by the shortage in boat slips, primarily because it’s not in the business of supplying slips to the public.

Svend Filby, who serves as treasurer and secretary of the club’s Board of Directors, has owned a boat slip there since 2009.

“We have 64 boat owners, and we have room for 64 boats to store,” he says. “We’re not a marina. We’re a club. So, it’s simple as far as that goes.”

Filby pointed toward valet boating as a simple solution for newer boat owners.

And, of course, the Harpers still have availability in Meredith.

The start of Jenness Hill

When Andrea and Jerry Harper Jr. started thinking about the boat storage problem about a year ago, Jerry was friendly with George Makris, who owned M&M Salvage for decades. Makris was ready to retire, and his 20,000-square-foot, two-story building was available.

The Harpers scooped it up and spent six weeks cleaning out 60 years’ worth of boats and marine salvage, Andrea Harper says.

Cars, motorcycles, personal watercraft, boats, and a few bob houses are now stored on the property, which is secure and monitored 24-7; Harper says only RVs are not allowed.

The cost for cars is $550 for six months on the lower level; on the storage building’s upper floor, the cost is $150 for a motorcycle for six months and $400 for personal watercraft. Outside, boat storage is $600 for winter; $500 from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or $100 per week. ATVs are $400. (Learn more at jennesshillstorage.com.)

With recent changes to parking rules in downtown Meredith that prohibit extended parking and limit time to 72 hours, boaters who live and vacation on nearby Bear Island were stuck. “We received several calls from people renting on Bear Island who now can’t park their trucks and trailers in Meredith for more than three days, and they were stuck if they were out there for a week,” Harper says.

“We offer a solution that’s only a mile from the Meredith boat launch,” she says, noting five of her Jenness Hill customers are islanders.

Harper said Jenness Hill has the capacity to store about 300 boats. “We are nowhere near max capacity at the moment, but we hope to be this winter,” she says.

The post Building Relationships with the Media appeared first on Beetle Press.

I have started writing feature stories for the Laconia Daily Sun in Laconia, New Hampshire. It was super fun to pen this piece about taking the boater safety course earlier this summer.

I learned to drive a boat only a few years after I learned how to write my name and memorize the multiplication tables. I had an aluminum boat with a 12-horse Evinrude on the back; every day in the summer, I’d push it off the sand at our summer camp on the southern end of Lake Winnisquam and drive to the post office near Mosquito Bridge to pick up the family’s mail. 

I learned everything I know about boating from my father, Harvey Beetle, and my two older brothers, Jeff and Allan. I thought I had a good knowledge foundation. So, when I signed up for the June 1 Boating Education course offered in Concord by the New Hampshire Department of Safety, I packed my laptop, thinking I might do a little multi-tasking.

I learned in the first five minutes that there were significant gaps in my knowledge—through no fault of my dad or brothers—and that, if I wanted to pass the exam at the end of the day, I needed to pay close attention.

The realization came when our instructor, Richard Horner, held a plastic boat in front of him. As he pointed to its parts, my voice was among those—about 25 in all—calling out the names “Bow.” “Stern.” “Starboard.” “Port.”

Horner lost me at “beam”—the area from one gunwale, over the top to the other—and “freeboard”—the part of the craft from the water line up. For the next six hours, I listened intently, took notes and worried that I would not retain all the material for the test at day’s end.

Broad scope of material

Seventeen years ago, the state’s boating education law went into effect. It mandates that everyone 16 years of age and older who operates a motorboat over 25 horsepower on New Hampshire waters must have a boating education certificate.

Since then, the Department of Safety has issued roughly 231,000 certificates, Horner told us. 

He said there are 90,000 to 100,000 boats registered in New Hampshire in a given year, and 60,000 boats alone on Winnipesaukee.  

With a goal of safety for these masses on New Hampshire’s waterways, the course offers a broad-stroke, thorough education that ranges from etiquette and technique in launching a boat on a trailer to navigation rules and traffic laws to primers on flotation devices, visual distress signals, and buoys. The exam covers the same ground in 60 questions. Individuals cannot get more than 12 wrong to pass.

Key learnings

The most sobering learning for me—literally—was the information Horner offered around drinking and operating a boat. 

As while driving an automobile on the road, the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent or greater. While boating in New Hampshire waters, though, you can be charged with operating under the influence if your blood alcohol concentration is as low as 0.03 percent, if the marine patrol officer also finds that you are impaired in some way, he said.

Persons convicted of boating under the influence (BWI) lose the privilege to operate a vessel for one year, and the BWI conviction becomes part of their motor vehicle driving record. Horner said a fine is levied, and the on-road driver’s license is revoked for a period between nine months and two years.

This all not to mention the fact that Horner told us that alcohol is a factor in a majority of boating accidents and fatalities. Made me nauseous, and cautious.

My other biggest learning was in knowing what to do when encountering a boat at a perpendicular or other odd angle. I know that when approaching one another head on, boats keep to the right, and that a faster boat can pass on either side when taking over another craft from behind. These are really the only scenarios I experience on the narrow Connecticut River in Western Mass, where I boat most often. 

Horner gave us an easy way to determine what to do when coming upon boats at other angles. 

First, he connected in our minds that the green in the bow light is on the starboard side, and green means go. Red is on the port side—think port wine, he told us—and red means go.

So, when approaching a boat on its starboard side, you have the green light and can stand on—or continue on the same course. If you are coming up on port side, you must give way.

About the instructor

Horner offered his information via two booklets he handed out at the start, several videos, and some old-fashioned lecture.

I didn’t learn much about Horner’s background, but he told us he’s been in the field for decades and that he has boated on all kinds of waterways. He looked to be over six-feet tall, was imposing, and commanded respect. He was also friendly, clear, and respectful.

He gave ample hints, offering some answers on the test repeatedly. He told us at least a half dozen times over the course of the day that boaters must run the blower for four minutes before starting the engine, for instance. Sure enough, I knew that answer when I saw the question. Not one. Not five. Four. 

If you attend the course and listen, you will do well.

How I did

I am in the process of buying a home in New Hampshire. This was my motivator for taking the test. 

I passed with a 95, but I sweated it out a bit. I found some of the questions to be ambiguous. And in some cases, I just plain didn’t know the answer. I believe I missed three or four of the 60.

I’m fairly certain if I had attempted to pass via the online exam, I would not have done nearly as well. I relied on Horner’s hints.

I wish I had taken the course when it was first offered. It well-rounded out my knowledge.

I have made a few changes on the boat I keep on the river in Western Mass since taking the course. I’ve tied a line to my Type IV flotation device (which I have called a “cushion” my whole life). I purchased a new fire extinguisher after knowing I needed to check the expiration date on mine, and I added a first-aid kit to the items I keep on board.

Two ways to earn a certificate

I highly recommend taking the Boating Education class as the most efficient and sure way to get a boating certificate in New Hampshire. Visit https://register-ed.com/programs/newhampshire/174 for the schedule of classes, dates, and location.

Complete an online course. If you pass, you must then take a proctored exam to receive a certificate card. Learn more about the online course at https://www.boat-ed.com/newhampshire/.

Please let me know if you have a suggestion for a story I could pen for the Laconia Daily Sun, or recommend a business owner I could feature in my column, Voices of the Valley, which runs on occasional Mondays in the Springfield Republican.

The post Penning a Newspaper Story from the Heart appeared first on Beetle Press.