suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. jennifer: another push today for a way to deal with the state's growing drug problem. today jeef justice netto spoke about drug courts at the rotary club luncheon. she supports the senate bill creating a 2.5 million grant program to bring the alternative courts into every county. she says drug courts cut the reoffense rate from 69 to 22%, >> i think if you are assessing offenders based on what their risks are and what their needs are, and addressing them, then we will be more successful at reducing the crime rate. if we use a one size fits all to everybody, then you're not going to see results. >> it's a lot cheaper, roughly 8 to $12,000 for someone going through drug court, you're looking at 30 to $40,000 if they go to jail. jennifer: counties will come up with 50% of the cost, the state would then match it. tom: coming up next, a manchester man stabbed in the back, his own mother charged with assault. what the two were fighting over that police say led to the attack. jennifer: plus

seven of those crew members have wmur' s suzanne roantree tonight spoke with a retired cargo ship captain who spent decades traveling the same route. suzanne: retired captain john nicoll who now lives in wolfboro is part of the shipping industry who today is mourning the loss of the 33 people on board el faro. several having ties to massachusetts and maine maritime academies. >> we have lost friends, colleagues, and alumni. we honor them best by continuing to commit to the excellence they bravely pursued. suzanne while the maritime : academies come to grips with the tragedy, those who are closest to the industry are asking questions of their own. jon nicoll a retired captain who spent nearly 40 years on the same route the el faro ran to puerto rico is looking hard at the captains decision to head into the storm instead of going around it. he says the fact the storm turned from a category one to a category four with in just a few >> it was very explosive, so to make that decision is a very tough one and to guess what he suzanne larry legere who works : at casco bay lines in maine. since th

suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. shelley: a man from keene is charged with animal cruelty after police say he kicked a dog and it died. police say the 17-year-old pekingese chihuahua wandered into toby tousley' s yard. he initially tried to shoo the dog away, but when the dog tried to go to the bathroom, tousley kicked it. he turned himself in to police, and was released on bail. the man behind three robberies last november will spend 10 years in prison. james whinnem pleaded guilty to robbing a gas station convenience store in manchester, a bank in manchester, and another bank in dover. surveillance video from the bank helped police identify him. whinnem was also ordered to pay back more than $11,000. tom: marco rubio is back in the granite state tonight and poised for a fresh day of campaigning tomorrow. this evening he spoke at a house party in bedford. adam sexton begins our commitment 2016 coverage tonight. adam: he is dodging more incoming fire from donnell from -- from donnell trauma -- donald trump, who calle

suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. josh: more information today about the federal response to the heroin epidemic. frank said the stop abuse act will bring funding from washington to new hampshire. >> we want to bring the resources to make sure they have an opportunity to go through a recovery court and have long-term treatment and make sure they are no longer addicted. >> we are a small states. we need to to have coordination of our medication programs where they keep track of who is trying to get access to opioids. it is multifaceted. josh: the task force will hold a roundtable at new hampshire' s department of safety, next friday. in a recent survery commissioned by wmur. new hampshire residents called heroin and substance abuse the most important issue facing the state. amy coveno as we host a very special town hall focused on the crisis of addcition in new hamphshire. doctors, police officers treatment specialists are all , part of the discussion, as recovering addicts and parents ask questions that could help mak

tom: that's right, and wmur's suzanne roantree talked to town officials about the ongoing problem, and this latest break, and she joins us live in the studio. suzanne? reporter: it was just after midnight when utility workers were called about the water main break at the intersection of main and pleasant streets. it's just one of many to plague salem over the last five months. since the middle of may, salem utility crews have been called to a half dozen water main breaks. not unlike other new hampshire communities, the town's under ground infrastructure is aging. >> the age of the pipes in this area are pretty odd, from the 1890's. this one here is early 60's, it's an older style pipe, cast iron pipe. reporter: while the water main breaks are a nuisance for drivers, they are also costly, not just at the town itself, but also to businesses like the tuscan market. joe says he got an early morning phone call alerting tom the situation. >> the entire street in front of the tuscan kitchen kind of caved in. the guys here in salem jump right on and it they've been working on it literally sinc

suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. josh: commitment 2016 now. the new hampshire primary once again under attack. this time coming from a retiring senate majority leader harry reid. in an interview over the weekend with the "washington post" the democrat said he's always been upset with new hampshire and iowa's early places in the presidential selection process but was particularly critical of new hampshire's population makeup. >> you go to new hampshire, there are not any you minorities there, nobody lives there. and i don't mean to deny great new hampshire or iowa, but they shouldn't be the ones choosing who will be president. josh: those comments prompted an immediate response from both new hampshire senators, shaheen and ayotte who said that reid doesn't know what he's talking about. governor hassan is now demanding an apology. so did reid apologize? you can be the jf his sincerity, coming up at 6:00. and the democratic candidates getting ready right to you for their first debate of the 2016 campaign with far fewer candidates than the crowded

live in the studio suzanne roantree wmur news 9 tom: a judge has denied a request to reduce his sentence for a man who gave a friend heroine that led to his death. his friend at a party. it was argued the rest of his because he' s been an exemplary prisoner for eight years. shelley: the department of health and human services says this year new hampshire is averaging 27 drug-related deaths a month. 91% of those are related to opioids, especially heroine and fentanyl. one of the people seeing that increase firsthand is the president of new england largest family-owned funeral home. grim reality. >> it' s a sad trend and it' s happened over the last two or three years in terms of our firm being asked by the medical examiner' s office, by families, to respond to heroine dess throughout the new hampshire market. shelley: he said they have responded to 50 opioids as so far this year. most of those he said attributed to heroine overdoses. >> ten years ago if we had a younger person that passed away from a drug overdose it was, oh my god look what happened. this 18-year-old woman passed away, a

live in north haverhill, suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. tom: thank you. a warm has been issued by rockingham county for a pan suspected of selling the heroin that led to another person's death. u.s. marshalls say that felix aguilar, who goes by several other names, last confirmed living in southern rockingham county, also known to frequent the lawrence area. he has a tribal tattoo on one arm. if you have any information about him, please call police. the drug fentanyl has been a key contributor to the spread of heroin use, and new numbers show new hampshire ranks in the top 10 states for fentanyl seizures. we'll take a closer look at those numbers at 6:00 tonight. jean: the remnants of hurricane patricia are still creating problems in the southern u.s. elizabeth hur is in new orleans. reporter: the severe storms have already been quite destructive in texas. here in louisiana officials are now confirming the heavy rains were not only dangerous but also deadly. driving in downpours like these police confirming a man died when he lost control of his car duri

suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. josh: a person accused of stabbing a woman to death in a maine grocery store pled guilty to murder today. she asked to be referred to as a woman in court, mcallister is charged with 59-year-old wendy beau drove at a supermarket in august. the state also shared two apology letters written by mcallister to the victim and her family. and manchester police are looking for the masked man who robbed a shop and go last night. officers say the man entered the story just after 8:30 wearing a ski mask and demanding cash. asked to call police. jennifer: it is breast cancer awareness month and even the inmates in goffstown are fighting to end the disease, they participated in the making strides against breast cancer at this facility this afternoon. about 85 inmates walked around the yard 34 times, which is about five miles. >> the last nine years they've been doing this they raised well over $3,000 for the cause for breast cancer. jennifer: today they raised $230. and also this year inmates drew

reporter: suzanne roantree, wmur news 9. jean: change for u.s. troops in afghanistan. today president obama announced thousands more troops will remain in afghanistan through the end of his presidency. aixa diaz is live in our washington bureau, and this is different from what the the stability of their country, the security situation remains fragile. that's why he says 5,500 u.s. troops will stay at bases in afghanistan through the end of president obama: the mission will not change, our troops will focus on training afghans and counterterrorism operations. but these bases will give us the presence and the reach our forces require to achieve their mission. reporter: senator jim mccain, chair of the armed services committee, says while he's pleased with the president's announcement he's concerned that the number of troops will not be sufficient to perform the critical tasks being set for them. tom donnelly says success in afghanistan through a stable government is possible with >> we can't have the result that we want without having land forces in a sufficient number t