N.H. Pays For Last Year’s Snow

( Concord, N.H. ) -  This winter's series of heavy snowfalls took  a $9.2 million  dollar bite out of the state's annual snow removal budget and led to a raid on the fund that pays for road  and bridge repair and maintenance. 

Figures compiled by the department of transportation show  the state spent $48.3 million dollars to clear roads this season.

It had budgeted $39.1 million and needed a transfer from the State  Highway Fund to cover the shortfall.  A Jan. 27 blizzard alone cost $3.3 million.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Crews are dealing with a water main break near the Maine Mall  in South Portland. The break is on Maine Mall road near the entrance to Best Buy. The road was closed to traffic around 7 a.m. The water district has not set a time table for repairs.

The U.S. Labor Department's OSHA division is proposing a fine of nearly $64,000 against M.L. Blouin of Rollinsford, saying workers  there were overexposed to a toxic chemical.  OSHA officials say the company lacked controls to reduce the exposure to methylene chloride and failed to provide respirators, proper eye and face protection and medical surveillance.

Gas prices in New Hampshire have risen nearly 11 cents per gallon in the past week, to an average of $2.40. Gas prices have risen 6.3 cents in  Maine in the past week to an average of $2.45.

Police in Springfield, Vermont, are investigating a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a man  over the weekend.  37-year-old Wesley Wing died early yesterday at a New Hampshire hospital following the shooting Saturday evening  near jake's South Street Market.