GILMANTON, N.H. (AP) – State environmental authorities are investigating an oil spill at the Hidden Valley Boy Scout camp.

Neighbors reported smelling oil at the camp Saturday morning. The oil was found in a wetland at the camp, which is near Manning Lake.

Officials believe the oil was coming from the camp’s main lodge, although they were unable to find immediate evidence of a leak. The oil spill was contained by a Rochester cleanup company. It’s uncertain how much the Boy Scouts will have to pay to remove the contamination.

The Boy Scouts use only a small part of the 1,000-acre property for their camp structures. The rest is held under a conservation easement by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

14-year-old wins N.H. spelling bee

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – A 14-year-old girl who attends a private school in Wilton is the New Hampshire State Spelling Bee champion for the second year in a row.

Elicia Chamberlin successfully defended her title by outspelling 20 competitors in 10 rounds at Memorial High School on Saturday.

Her winning word was “juvenescence,” which means youthfulness.

Chamberlin will go on to represent the state at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, which runs from May 30 to June 4.

Chamberlin is a student at the Pine Hill School, a Waldorf school for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Bill would change independents’ vote

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – A bill in the state Legislature would make it harder for independent voters to change their registration back to “unaffiliated” after voting in a party primary.

Right now, independent voters can walk into a polling place on primary day and request a ballot for either the Republican or Democratic primary.

Once someone picks a ballot, he’s registered as a member of that party. But on his way out the door, he can change his registration back to independent.

A new bill would require anyone who votes in a party primary to wait 90 days before changing his party affiliation and go to the town clerk’s office to do it, as Democrats and Republicans must do now if they temporarily change registration to vote in the other party’s primary.

Independents say the law would place a new burden on them.

But supporters say primaries are supposed to allow members of each party to choose their candidates. They say if independents want to participate in primaries, they should face the same hurdles to changing their party affiliation afterward as party members do.

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Cooperative Police

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GREENVILLE, N.H. (AP) – The state’s first cooperative police department has hit a snag.

The cooperative police department for Temple and Greenville was supposed to be up and running Friday, but the launch has been postponed while legal details are ironed out.

Temple Selectman Ted Petro said the state attorney general’s office reviewed the compact between the two towns and said some changes needed to be made. The main concern is how the police department’s assets and officers would be divided up if either town gives six months’ notice to withdraw from the agreement.

Temple Police Chief Jame McTague will head the new department, which should be operating by the end of the month, he said. McTague already has hired three full-time officers and is working on hiring four part-timers. He’s also fixing up the Greenville police station for use by the new department.

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UNH Fundraising

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DURHAM, N.H. (AP) – The president of the University of New Hampshire says its next capital fundraising campaign must be more ambitious than the last one.

President Ann Weaver Hart says the university will seek more than $100 million, but less than $250 million, for its endowment.

The last campaign raised nearly $103 million dollars from 1999 to 2002.

Hart said the new campaign has been slowed because the head of the UNH Foundation Inc. is leaving for another job, but she hopes to have a new fund-raiser by summer.

Hart recently told state legislators that the state needs to follow through on capital funding to maintain the university system’s buildings, because if the state isn’t committed to maintenance, it’s hard to attract private investment.

Gov. John Lynch, former chairman of the university system’s board of trustees, included $12 million in his next two-year budget. The university system is asking for $100 million over six years.

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Salesmen Charges

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Three magazine salesmen who police said raped a 19-year-old woman could be arraigned in New Hampshire on Monday.

The salesmen – Christopher Armstrong, Cassidy Coburn and Joseph Hannify – were arrested late Thursday in Aberdeen, Md.

The men were selling magazines door-to-door for a Florida company called Fidelity Reader Service at the time of the alleged rape, authorities said. The woman was raped Monday night.

Armstrong, Hannify and Coburn waived extradition in Maryland on Friday, meaning they agreed to return to New Hampshire to face charges.

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DMV Charge

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A man has been accused of kicking out a window at the state Department of Safety headquarters.

Eric Winger, 19, kicked out the window after becoming upset over losing his driver’s license, officials said.

Police arrested Winger last week and charged him with criminal mischief. He was released on bail pending his arraignment later this month in Concord District Court.

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School “Gates”

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HANOVER, N.H. (AP) – Call it New Hampshire’s version of “The Gates.”

Richmond Middle School got a makeover for April Fools’ Day when teachers wrapped the building in colored paper ribbons last week.

The event was modeled after “The Gates,” the art installion of 7,500 saffron-colored fabric gates in New York City’s Central Park.

April Fools’ pranks have become an annual tradition at Richmond Middle School. This year’s joke carried extra meaning, though, because the school is moving to a new building.

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Geography Bee

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KEENE, N.H. (AP) – A seventh-grader from Hooksett is the 2005 state geography bee champion.

Nicholas Amadeo won the annual competition, held Friday at Keene State College.

Amadeo was one of 10 students to compete in the state bee. As the winner, he’ll head to Washington next month for the National Geographic Geography Bee.

His recipe for success? Study hard, be disciplined and put away the video games while preparing.

AP-ES-04-03-05 1411EDT