The Buzz Online

In the Spotlight: Planet Fitness, headquartered in Hampton, reopened its 19 clubs in NH and is strengtheing its existing cleaning procedures and policies, including increased sanitization stations throughout the gym, touchless check-ins, some cardio equipment marked out of use to create additional distance between members, opening at 50% capacity and requesting members wear face coverings when not working out.

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Epredia in Portsmouth, and Lunaphore Technologies SA, a Swiss life-sciences company developing next-generation equipment for cancer research, have entered into a distribution agreement. Epredia will now be the exclusive distributor of the LabSat Research platform in the US, UK and Germany as of July 2020. They'll distribute Labsat Research in Japan starting in 2021.

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Franklin Savings Bank awarded $14,000 in scholarships to 15 seniors from seven area high schools through the FSB Scholarship Fund.

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Sheehan Phinney in Manchester hired Jaclyn N. Fisher to its Real Estate Group, where she will be involved in affordable housing and low-income housing tax credits. Fisher joins the firm from Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios. She served as a legal resident to the Honorable Andrea K. Johnstone, U.S. District Court for the District of NH.

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Ledyard National Bank in Hanover hired Joe Scearbo as an assistant vice president and commercial relationship manager in its commercial banking division. Scearbo was a business banking relationship manager at Citizens Bank in the Upper Valley.

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Atlantic Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Portsmouth hired Julia A. Hannigan-Trefethen as human resources manager. She has worked in human resource management for more than 30 years.

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U.S. Army recruiters in New England will take part in the Army’s first nationwide virtual hiring campaign June 30 to July 2. The goal is to recruit 10,000 new soldiers to serve in 150 different occupations. Army National Hiring Days is an all-Army effort to inspire individuals to consider military service with potential career paths, ranging from traditional combat roles to support positions in logistics, engineering and technology.

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According to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire state of NH has been categorized as abnormally dry. Over the last 60 days, Belknap, Grafton, Carrol, and Coos counties have received 25 to 50% less precipitation than normal, while Sullivan, Merrimack, Strafford, Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Cheshire counties have received 50 to 75% less. The state Department of Environmental Services encourages those relying on private residential wells to begin conserving now. Due to COVID-19, people are at home more often, which means a higher than usual demand on residential well supplies. To protect your well supply, it is recommended that outdoor water use be limited and water use be staggered, allowing the well time to recharge between demands.