Talent and hard work make the WHS Three-Day CRASH effort sadly realistic

By Bernie Marvin

---

Woodsville, NH – A three-day project produced last week by many dedicated people from around the area ended up as a life-like experience with a death-like result located adjacent to the Woodsville High School parking lot.

With superb play-acting right from the early morning opening scene, wailing sirens from responding emergency vehicles to an indescribably wild scene of two mangled vehicles, an assortment of emergency vehicles, medical personnel, and rescue responders poured onto the tarmac of Woodsville High School parking lot to go to work and hopefully save a life and reduce suffering of other souls involved in the madness of a seriously bad mock motor vehicle crash. The entire scenario was planned, set up, and executed with the same seriousness as a real crash.

In the mayhem playing out before more than 200 people, who included students, staff, parents, and members of the public, watched and commented on the work being done close to the observers' view. The action going on was described over the school's sound system by long-time medical responder and Emergency Medical Technician Richard Guy.

I can't count on both hands and feet times two the number of years EMT Guy has been at the scene of the Woodsville High School mock crash scenes from the past, but I know my first experience with this type of program was in the early 1980's, and he was there at the locus of the accident set-up for that school project at the old Butson's Supermarket parking lot.

That means that Mr. Guy and others of the Woodsville Fire Department and medical team have been doing this for a long time and have lots of experience with both the actual, fatal crash scenes and the fake crash scenes, like this one, as well.

Injured passengers in varying degrees of moulage (mock accident injury applications) in each crash vehicle were high school students who included Trent Alling, who was deceased as a result of his injuries, along with others who were injured, including Grace McLellan, Katie Houston, and Makayla Walker.

In the second involved vehicle, students suffering immensely realistic moulage injuries included Taylor McFarland, Maddie Monterosso, Jill Roy, and Eyrleigh Hambrick.

Woodsville Fire and Medical units arrived on scene at 8:30 sharp on the first day of the three-day program. The injured were cut loose from the wreckage and transported to Cottage Hospital by ambulance. The deceased student driver was transported from the scene in a Ricker Funeral Home hearse. Ensuring that proper legal requirements were intact, the Medical Examiner, in a role played by Haverhill Recreation Director Sherri Sargent, was on the scene.

Also, on scene for the one-hour action staging was Grafton County Attorney Martha Ann (Marcie) Hornick. She was on board later in production as the prosecutor who led the proceedings against the impaired vehicle operator that the deceased student was in.

With the shrouded body of the Alling student lying in plain view of the 200 observing students, the scene was solemn and remained so until the hearse had cleared the parking lot. But the sadness of that incident would be returned for Part Two, as creators at the school had also scheduled a full funeral for the deceased student at the Dr. John A. Bagonzi Community Building that was held the next day with flowers, music and testimonials, including an officiant Melissa Gould, pall bearers, and a visiting speaker, Derek Curtis of Groton, who had lost a child, Blue Mountain Union High School student "TC" Curtis, as a result of injuries suffered in an auto crash in 2018.

The Community and State partners who are assisting with the Mock Crash include: Haverhill Police Department, Grafton County Sheriff Department, Grafton County Attorney's Office, Ricker Funeral Home, Woodsville Cottage Hospital, Woodsville Emergency Medical Services, Woodsville Fire Department, AAA Northern New England, NH Liquor Commission, NH Department of Transportation Driving Toward Zero, NH Department of Highway Safety, Woodsville High School Band, Haverhill Recreation Department, JTB Towing and Recovery, Hatchland Farm, Copies and More, Private Citizens and WHS Students.

Day Two of the program opened inside the Dr. John A. Bagonzi Community Building, where the high school classes once again assembled to observe and some to participate in the funeral of the student killed in the mock fatal crash that played out before the students who gathered at the school's parking lot early the previous day.

Student and faculty pallbearers included Principal Hayden Coon, Teachers Robert Scianna and Glen Page, also Assistant Principal Matt Kelly, and students Maddox Furyes and Grace McLellan.

The casket, memorial photos, flowers, and signs were placed around the gym as seniors and staff made their entrance and took their seats in designated areas. An intermittent slideshow was held to commemorate the life of deceased student Trent Alling, with appropriate background music provided by Music Director Wright.

Opening the service was Derek Curtis, father of BMU student TC Curtis, who was killed in a vehicle crash in 2018. The students listened intently to his words as a father who had experienced the death of a child.

Student speakers were Grace McLellan, Josie Drake, and Mila Townsand.

Vocalist Mila Townsend sang Amazing Grace, as the vista of flowers and students marked the realistic setting of a memorial service for a student loved by friends and classmates, his short life snuffed out the previous day in a motor vehicle crash. Melissa Gould was an officiant throughout the program, something she does professionally with great feeling and love.

The service was closed with a reading and a poem recitation by Melissa. Pallbearers assembled once again to carry the casket out of the Community Building, and students returned to the Roundhouse with their teachers.

Teachers then facilitated discussions on the mock funeral they had just witnessed.

Day Three of the three-day event began at noon on Friday, May 1, 2026, and included a mock court trial, featuring Grafton County Attorney Marcie Hornick, Defense Attorney Amanda Jacobson, a Lead Assistant County Attorney, and Judge Tara Heater, a Deputy County Attorney.

During the court proceedings, students observed and heard the arraignment and bail hearing for the defendant charged in the staged mock crash scene. Also, they witnessed the trial proceedings, including witness testimony, evidence presentation, closing arguments, and the defendant's sentencing.

An important part of the program included the day's activities on the final day, Friday, May 1, 2026. It included large-group sessions on safe driving, reducing impaired and distracted driving crashes, a lunch period, and the mock trial from noon to 1:30 PM.

Assembled in the parking lot for student visits and discussions were AAA Northern New Hampshire and programs that included distracted-driving glasses, impaired-vision goggles, and a program by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission that included a golf-cart operation activity and impairment glasses.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation cargo trailer was set up alongside other outdoor stations for student access during student rotations. The program ended at 3 PM.

At the mock crash produced recently at Woodsville High School, Woodsville Fire Department rescue crews work to free injured students trapped in a wrecked vehicle. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin

Injured Woodsville High School student is loaded into a Woodsville ambulance, after being freed from a crashed vehicle during a school-wide mock accident, funeral, and court trial awareness exercise held at the school over April 29, 30, and May 1, 2026. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin

During the funeral services staged for a victim of a mock motor vehicle crash at Woodsville High School, pallbearers bring in the coffin of student Trenton James Alling for funeral services at the Dr. John A. Bagonzi Community Building. From left to right, seen are Teacher Bob Scianna, Maddox Furyes, Principal Hayden Coon, Teacher Glen Page, Grace McLellan, and Assistant Principal Matthew Kelly. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.

At trial on the third day of the WHS Crash program, defendant Taylor McFarland, a Woodsville High School student, at center, listens as Grafton Country Attorney Marcie Hornick, at right, and defense lawyer Amanda Jacobson, argue the charges leveled against McFarland. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin

Delivering Holiday Cheer By The Truckload

By Trish Griswold

---

Members of the Woodsville High School Class of 2026 helped unload, set up, and tag trees on opening weekend of tree season. Pictured (L-R) are: Makayla Walker, Katie Houston, Ryan Walker, Gabe Roy, Michel Plachetzki, Morgan Crocker, Jillian Roy, Cowan Kimball, and Dylan Marshall.

NORTH HAVERHILL - For the Lackie family of North Haverhill, NH, delivering goodwill and holiday cheer is a tradition that spans many generations. “It's just what we do,” remarks David “Peanut” Lackie, a retired truck driver who has been transporting Christmas trees to the area for decades.


According to Peanut, he took over the family business in 1989 when his father, Leslie Lackie, passed away. For many years, Leslie transported cargo, including Christmas trees from as far away as Canada and as close by as northern New Hampshire. “Mountain Star Tree Farm in Swiftwater (formerly known as the Olsen Tree Farm) - that’s where Dad got started,” Peanut recalls. “He hauled trees for 15 years before I took over. Actually, he went to Wisconsin and got the first tree baler that was in this area.”


In the early 1990s, Peanut’s brother, Norman “Smiley” Lackie, started a small tree stand at the Lackie homestead on the corner of Dartmouth College Highway and Route 116. Peanut’s daughters, Amy (Lackie) Crocker and Jennifer (Lackie) Barkley, kept the tree stand going from 1994 to 1996 before passing it along to the Woodsville High School (WHS) ensemble band as a fundraiser for their trip to Annapolis, MD, to participate in a regional competition. Over the years, many other school groups and local non-profit organizations have been recipients of the fundraiser, including the WHS Class of 2000, the North Haverhill Fire Department, the Haverhill Area Youth DC Trip, the WHS Class of 2023, and the WHS Class of 2026. All of the aforementioned school-related groups, Peanut says, have included a member of the Lackie family.


“We’ve never made a dime on the trees. I buy them, bring them down, and sell them to whatever group at the same price I bought them for. We sell the trees at cost and never charge a penny to truck them.”


The Lackies also donate trucking and provide trees at cost for holiday decorating efforts in North Haverhill and Woodsville, NH, and in Wells River, VT, spreading holiday cheer on both sides of the Connecticut River. “We’ve always donated our time and trucking, and we’re happy to do it,” comments Peanut’s wife, Leslie (Pierson) Lackie, who has supported her husband in continuing both the family business and the tree stand.


The most recent recipient of the tree stand fundraiser is the WHS Class of 2026. “There are really no words that can express how appreciative our class is for the Lackies/Crockers. For the past three years, our success has been rooted from their efforts, and we couldn’t be more grateful for them,” remarks Class President Makayla Walker. “They’ve given us the Christmas tree and craft fair fundraisers that have played a significant role in making prom and our class trip possible, but it has also given us the opportunity to give back to those who have given so much to us.”


“Apart from the financial opportunities,” Makayla continues, “their generosity has brought our class together; freshman year, when we didn’t have these fundraisers, fundraising participation was absent. Now, I’d say close to 75% or more are participating. It’s obvious how committed they are to our class, and we are forever indebted to the Lackies for guiding us, supporting us, and ultimately handing us success; it’s going to be difficult figuring out how to pay them back.”


Managing the Christmas tree stand, which was relocated in 2023 to the parking area at Augie’s Rest Stop is more labor intensive than one might think. “It’s a lot of work,” says Amy, who, together with her husband, Todd Crocker, took over Peanut’s trucking company in June of 2022 and has continued the Lackie family’s time-honored traditions. “You have to set up the racks, hang the lights, bring the trees into town, unload them, set them up on the racks, cut the strings, and price them.”


Equally time-consuming is maintaining the trees after every snowstorm. “You have to shake them off every time it snows. Some years when it was down to Mother’s, we had some serious snow,” Peanut recalls. “In fact, one year we got rain, and the trees froze so we had to take some up to the fire station, thaw them out, and bring them back down. It can be a challenge.”


Except on the weekends, the tree stand is set up to use the honor system, which “works for the most part,” Amy says. “Most people are honest, and it all evens out. Some people put extra in, and some don’t. People’s generosity covers what doesn’t get paid for.”


In fact, some members of the community donate faithfully every year, including Harley Vance of Groton, VT, who purchases two trees, one for himself and one for his mother, Betty Oakes, also of Groton. “We like to support local youth organizations. Plus, they have a wide selection, the trees are well-trimmed, and the prices are more than reasonable.”


When asked about the future of the tree stand, Leslie explains that, in June, their granddaughter, Morgan, a member of the WHS Class of 2026 and this year’s recipient of the tree stand fundraiser, will graduate from high school. The Lackie family will need to decide which school group or community organization will inherit the tree stand project next. “We’d like it to continue to go towards fundraising, a scholarship, or benefit the community in some way. That is what it’s all about. The kids and the community.”

Christmas trees nestled in whiskey barrels outside Robert Lawrence Salon & Spa in Woodsville provide a festive glow during the holiday season. The Lackie Family provides more than 100 trees at cost to businesses in Woodsville and North Haverhill, NH, and Wells River, VT.

The Lackie Family tree stand located at Augie’s Rest Stop just south of Hatchland Dairy in North Haverhill provides a wide selection of balsam fir at an affordable price.

The Lackies have been delivering Christmas trees to the North Haverhill area for decades. They donate the trucking fees and provide the trees at cost to a local school group or organization for fundraising purposes. Pictured (L-R) are David “Peanut” Lackie, Leslie Lackie, Amy Crocker, and Todd Crocker.