OXFORD

Woman, 54, hurt as SUV hits tree on School House Road

A 54-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening head injuries Monday morning after crashing her sport-utility vehicle into a tree.

Sharon Huntley-Brown of Oxford was driving north on School House Road, the road she lives on, about 11 a.m. when she swerved and crashed, totaling her blue 2000 Mercury Mountaineer, said Oxford Police Officer Alan Coffin.

Coffin said police are still investigating why she swerved.

Huntley-Brown was taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Coffin said he expected she would be released later Monday.

HARTFORD, Conn.

Advocacy groups for farm workers receive $1.3 million

New England groups that advocate for farm workers are receiving about $1.3 million in federal money for training, employment and other support for those workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor says nearly $84 million will be available nationally for programs to fight chronic unemployment and underemployment among migrant and seasonal farm workers.

The National Farmworker Jobs Program helps eligible people improve their agricultural job skills and train for careers in growing industries and occupations with higher wages and more stable employment. The program also offers services such as child care, health care and transportation assistance.

COLEBROOK, N.H.

Gunpowder company agrees to quit business forever

A New Hampshire gunpowder company had agreed to stay out of the explosives business forever and surrender the company’s explosives license as a way to settle dozens of citations issued by the federal government in the aftermath of a 2010 factory explosion that killed two men in Colebrook.

Black Mag Industries made the agreement last week with the U.S. Department of Labor as a way to settle 54 citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the aftermath of the explosion that heavily damaged the plant, shook buildings blocks away and forced dozens of homes to be evacuated.

Black Mag’s principle owner, Craig Sanborn, of Maidstone, Vt., agreed to never employ workers in any explosives-related business enterprise, OSHA said.

CONCORD, N.H.

Lawmakers to seek repeal of same-sex marriage in 2012

More than 1,500 married, New Hampshire gay couples could be placed into a classification all their own if lawmakers succeed next year in repealing the state’s two-year-old law legalizing same-sex unions.

Legislation to repeal gay marriage is one of the highly charged issues left over from the just-completed legislative session that must be acted on early next year.

The two proposed repeal bills would not affect gay marriages before repeal, but would stop new same-sex marriages.

Other high-profile issues coming back include a constitutional amendment to shift control of state school aid from the courts to the Legislature.

Lawmakers also must realign political districts in keeping with census changes. The Senate also held onto a bill aimed at blocking the proposed Northern Pass transmission project.

NEWINGTON, N.H.

Boaters warned of change in water flow at Little Bay

The New Hampshire Marine Patrol is urging boaters in the state’s Little Bay tidal waters to exercise caution because construction has changed the water flow in the area around General Sullivan Bridge.

Bridge supports have been added during the construction and that has created more turbulence than usual.

FARMINGTON, N.H.

Alcohol likely a factor in Route 11 crash, police say

Police in New Hampshire say alcohol appears to have been a factor in a Route 11 crash in Farmington in which a man was trapped in his burning pickup truck.

Police say 49-year-old Ronald Nisbet went off the side of the road just west of the Rochester town line at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday and hit several trees.

The vehicle caught fire with Nisbet inside. Police were able to hold the flames at bay while another officer and a passing driver pulled Nisbet to safety. Nisbet was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

RANDOLPH, Mass.

Woman drives into parade; crashes 30 miles later in R.I.

Massachusetts police say a woman drove past a barrier and into a parade, narrowly missed spectators and continued for about 30 miles before crashing her car in Rhode Island.

Randolph Police Chief William Pace says authorities have a warrant to charge 40-year-old Gloria Hodge with assault with a dangerous weapon, driving to endanger and failure to stop for police.

— From news service reports