E E R F Wednesday, december 29, 2010
wednesday
Keeping Ward Bird off witness stand probably kept jury from learning details of 2002 gun episode
Maine ski lift derails
Some vacationers at Carrebassett Valley plunge to snow drifts below — P. 2
VOL. 11 nO. 150
LacOnIa, n.H.
Perfect day for the Stark Street slide
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Convention anticipates it may have hard time finding lawyer who’s both qualified & wants to be Belknap County Attorney
Former Grafton county Prosecutor, and current Gilford resident. Ken anderson says he’s interested By Michael Kitch
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
M O U LT O N B O R OUGH — It was on a Friday, June 27, 2008 to be exact, that Carroll County Superior Court Judge Steven Houran gave the jury the instructions that would help them decide Ward Bird’s future. During the three-day trial, the jury heard from four prosecution witnesses — victim Christine Harris, real estate agent Ed Marudsinski, Bird’s niece, Laura HealdKeyser and Lt. Thomas Dawson of the Moultonborough Police. They didn’t hear from Ward Bird nor did he present any kind of defense. His lawyer, Mark Sisti, in his closing argument, said the prosecution didn’t make its case beyond a reasonable doubt for either the charge of reckless consee BIRd page 7
527-9299
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
A cold, sunny Tuesday found a lot of people still digging out from under Monday’s nor’easter but school is also out and Cole Manion (bottom) Christian Pinkney took advantage of their vacation time to do some sliding off Stark Street in Laconia. (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)
Gregg for president buzz falling on deaf ears By Shira SchoenBerg CONCORD MONITOR
CONCORD — Don’t start printing “Gregg for president” bumper stickers just yet. Though speculation has been rampant about the political future of New Hampshire’s retiring senior senator, Republican Judd Gregg,
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observers on the ground in New Hampshire say there’s little chance Gregg will mount a run in 2012. “It stretches the definition of unlikely,” said Tom Rath, a Republican strategist who chaired Gregg’s Senate campaign see GReGG page 10
LACONIA — This week the Belknap County Convention will advertise for applicants to fill the office of county attorney amid some concerns that there may be a dearth of truly qualified candidates. Shortly after county attorney Jim Carroll was re-elected to a third term in November, Governor John Lynch tapped him to become the presiding justice of the Laconia District Court, creating the vacancy. Representative Alida Millham (R-Gilford), who chairs the convention, said yesterday that Carroll will take his seat on the bench in the second week of January, when his deputy, Carly Ahern, will become interim county attorney with support from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, should it be necessary. Millham said that since no jury trials are scheduled for February, the convention has at least until March 1 to appoint Carroll’s successor. “We’re all aware that there is potentially a problem — not enough qualified candidates,” she added. Millham’s concerns are shared by several members of the local legal community. The county attorney must be a legal resident of Belknap County and a member of the New Hampshire Bar, who has “demonstrated an ability to prosecute all felonies committed in Belknap County except first and second-degree homicides.” In addition, see PROseCUTOR page 6