New Hampshire

Teen wins first New Hampshire State Am golf championship

Published

5 months ago

July 13, 2025

Teen wins first New Hampshire State Am golf championship

GONIC – Josiah Hakala has designs on playing for pay some day, but for now he’s building quite a resume.

The 18-year-old defeated Ryan Scollins in the finals of the 122^nd New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship, 2-and-1 on Saturday at Rochester Country Club.

“My ultimate goal is to play on the PGA Tour and play for majors,” Hakala said. “That’s what I’ve always wanted to do but you’ve got work your way up in little steps. It’s another step today.”

Along with the trophy and prestige that goes along with winning the grueling, six-day event, the confident Hakala also earned an exemption into next month’s U.S. Amateur where he will go up against some of the best amateurs in the world at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

“It’s going to be awesome,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there and showcase my talents and see how far we can take it out there. Honestly, the hardest thing about those tournaments is getting into them. I feel like that’s where I should be.”

Earlier this year he also won his fourth consecutive high school individual title in Division IV, the first time anyone has accomplished the feat in New Hampshire regardless of class.

Hakala reached the semifinals of last year’s State Am where he lost to eventual champion Rob Henley.

“I learned a lot from that and used a lot of that experience from last year today,” said Hakala, who helped Mascenic Regional High School win two Division IV state golf titles.

Hakala and Scollins are good friends.

“I’ve played a lot of rounds with him,” Scollins said. “He doesn’t miss shots. You can’t expect him to miss anything.”

Hakala qualified this year as the No. 2 seed going into match play while Scollins, 20, was the No. 5 seed. Leading 2-up, Hakala parred the next-to-last hole of the 36-hole event to clinch the victory.

“Any time you can end before 18 is great,” said Hakala, who plays out of Beaver Meadow Golf Course in Concord. “Winning the 16^th hole of the second (18) to go 2-up with two to play was ideal.”

The turning point came toward the end of the opening 18 where Hakala went from 2-down to 2-up in a span of five holes, winning four holes with three birdies and a par during a decisive swing of momentum.

“I played some nice golf on that stretch,” he said. “To have any kind of cushion going into the second 18 was awesome. Ryan is a heck of a player and any kind of buffer you can get was really big. After that I really felt more in control. I didn’t feel like the match was ever going to get away from me.”

Although he never relinquished the precarious lead Hakala could never pull away as Scollins kept applying the pressure and during one stretch during the afternoon 18 pulled within 1-down.

“It was 2-up and the next thing I knew I was 2-down,” said Scollins, whose deepest run in the tournament before this was the round of 32.

Scollins, a rising junior in college at Holy Cross, was still within one hole as late as the 33^rd hope until he made bogey on the 34^th. That gave Hakala all the breathing room he needed to prevail.

“You can’t back off,” Hakala said. “You can’t let up anything. You’ve got to keep your foot on the throttle, and I felt like I did that really well. … I really felt like I didn’t miss a shot with my irons coming down the stretch and really liked the way I was hitting them under the pressure.”

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire 6-year-old tests positive for cocaine, cannabis; mother faces multiple charges

Published

4 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

New Hampshire 6-year-old tests positive for cocaine, cannabis; mother faces multiple charges

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A New Hampshire woman was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering after her daughter ingested a THC gummy and later tested positive for cannabinoids and cocaine, according to officials.

The incident prompted a police investigation after the state Division for Children, Youth and Families notified the Nashua Police Department Nov. 3.

According to a release shared by Nashua Police Department, detectives learned the 6-year-old had been hospitalized following the ingestion and that her mother, Paige Goulet, allegedly told a witness not to cooperate with investigators.

DRUG-LACED CANDY DISGUISED AS KIDS’ TREATS FUELS NEW HALLOWEEN SAFETY WARNING FOR PARENTS: POLICE

The Nashua Police Department took custody of Goulet and formally charged her. (Nashua Police Department)

“While at the hospital, the juvenile victim tested positive for the illegal drugs, cannabinoids, and cocaine,” the release said.

“Detectives learned that Goulet had told a witness not to cooperate with the police investigation, and detectives determined that Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her juvenile daughter.”

Goulet, 30, was arrested Monday by Meredith police on a felony warrant for tampering with witnesses involved in the Nashua police investigation.

GUATEMALAN NATIONAL FREED WITHOUT BAIL IN THC GUMMIES CASE THAT SENT 12 MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS TO THE HOSPITAL

Nashua police determined Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her daughter. (Wang Zhao/AFP/GettyImages)

She was taken into custody by Nashua police and formally charged.

She is facing charges of tampering with witnesses and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the release.

FLORIDA PARENTS ARRESTED AFTER 4-YEAR-OLD TWINS ALLEGEDLY SHOT THEMSELVES

Paige Goulet was taken to the Nashua Police Department and charged with witness tampering and child endangerment after her daughter’s THC gummy ingestion. (Google Maps)

Goulet was released on $300 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Nashua District Court Jan. 7.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Meredith and Nashua police departments for comment.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

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New Hampshire

It’s been 50 years since turkeys were reintroduced to N.H. A survey will check on the population. – The Boston Globe

Published

16 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

It’s been 50 years since turkeys were reintroduced to N.H. A survey will check on the population. – The Boston Globe

In recent years, the survey has helped identify about 910 flocks on average, with about 16,488 birds reported per year.

Those numbers can fluctuate based on winter conditions. The birds are more likely to congregate at backyard feeders during winters with heavy snow and limited food, driving up reported numbers. On the other hand, when birds can easily get the food they need in the wild, reports tend to decrease, according to Daniel Ellingwood, a wildlife biologist and turkey project leader at New Hampshire Fish and Game.

He said the state has been conducting the survey for about 20 years. This year, the survey started in December and will run through March.

Right now, the turkey population in New Hampshire includes about 48,000 birds, Fish and Game estimated.

But just over 50 years ago, there weren’t any turkeys in the state at all. In fact, Ellingwood said, turkeys had been absent from New Hampshire’s landscape for about 125 years — starting in the 1850s and lasting until a successful reintroduction effort began in 1975.

Populations were diminished to the point of disappearing because of human activities like hunting and deforestation.

Then, in 1975, the state launched a successful effort to bring the turkeys back.

“A single flock from southwest New York was captured and translocated to Walpole, New Hampshire in ’75,” Ellingwood said. “That population took hold and began to expand.”

That first flock included about 25 birds. In the following years, other flocks were relocated to New Hampshire, and the turkey population began spreading to other parts of the state.

At this point, the birds have made a remarkable recovery.

“The population is largely stable and healthy,” Ellingwood said.

This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

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