DOVER, N.H. (AP) – Rape charges have been dropped against the son of the police chief in Rochester.

The trial was supposed to begin Monday for 19-year-old Brendon Dubois, but lawyers on both sides say they reached an agreement Friday, in which Dubois admitted no guilt, but apologized for any pain or suffering his former girlfriend may have suffered.

Prosecutors said the woman did not recant her story, but had been under extreme pressure.

Dubois had been accused of using physical force and handcuffs to have sex with the woman in January 2002. He refused several plea bargains, saying he did not commit a crime.

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MIDDLETON, N.H. (AP) – Former Middleton Police Chief Dan Yoder is going to the state Supreme Court to try to get his job back.

The court will hear arguments on May 10 on whether selectmen were justified in firing him in 2002.

Yoder was fired after claims that he gave away $44 of police ammunition and gave “inconsistent statements” to selectmen.

A Superior Court judge ruled last year that selectmen were justified in removing Yoder. Yoder’s lawyer said the appeal questions the Superior Court’s decision to allow hearsay evidence during the trial, and that Yoder did not get a chance to face his accusers.

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PEMBROKE, N.H. (AP) – Town officials are under fire for selling a Hooksett couple a parcel of land that doesn’t exist.

John and Renee Kuliga bought the land in 1995 for about $2,200. Last summer, after questioning a reassessment, they hired a surveyor who discovered the acre they bought never existed.

The couple asked the town to refund about $8,000 for the purchase price, transfer taxes and property taxes. Selectmen offered less than half that, so now the Kuligas want $16,000, including legal fees, surveyor expenses and interest.

Neither side disputes that the town accidentally created the lot when it made a surveying error in 1995.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – School officials say they are concerned about kids’ safety as more drivers blow by stopped school buses.

Transit Authority Safety Supervisor William Rogers says the problem is worse than ever, and he’s worried someone is going to get hit.

In the last five months, the transit authority reported about 275 drivers who drove past the flashing red lights as buses either picked up or dropped off kids.