Author: WNTK News

The Claremont Police Department announced the swearing in of a new police officer on Monday.

According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, the newest officer is Michael Gilboy, a recent graduate of Weymouth High School in Massachusetts. While in high school Gilboy earned his automotive technician certificate. The post states that he is also a certified Emergency Medical Technician in MA.

After graduating from the New Hampshire Police Academy, Gilboy will be assigned to Claremont’s patrol division.

The post concludes, “Please join the entire Claremont Police family in welcoming Officer Gilboy and wishing him a long and safe career with our department.”

Two former Dartmouth College students have been cleared of liability for 2016 fire, reports WCAX.

According to the report, the fire occurred in 2016 when two students inadvertently started a grill fire which gutted an entire residence hall. A Valley News report stated that Factory Mutual Insurance Co. paid Dartmouth before bringing a claim against the two students. The insurance claim, which Dartmouth was hoping to make the students reimburse, totaled $4.5 million.

Recently, a judge ruled in the students’ favor, stating that they were covered under the college’s fire insurance policy. Factory Mutual appealed this decision, pointing towards the fact that Dartmouth’s student handbook outlawed charcoal grills and open flames in student residence halls, and that violation of this policy “may” result in a student being held liable for any fire.

Again, the court rebuked this, siding with the students. 

Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has received a Level One accreditation for its geriatric emergency department.

According to WCAX, the department received this honor from the American College of Emergency Physicians, which comes as a result of the department’s high standard of care for the elderly.

The program, established in 2019, is considered “more relevant than ever” due to the COVID-19 virus largely targeting the geriatric community.

Reportedly, DHMC is the only rural medical center in the country to have received the Level One honor, and one of only 14 establishments in total.  

A Saturday morning fire in Claremont required assistance from multiple area towns, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.

Reportedly, the Claremont Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 74 Charlestown Road at approximately 9:40 AM on Saturday, March 20th. Assisting on the scene were crews from Ascutney, Cornish, and Newport.

Upon arrival, crews discovered heavy smoke billowing from a “single-story wood frame structure.” Fire personnel were able to knock down the flame, and the fire was under control at approximately 10:20 AM.

According to the report, the fire damage was limited to one end of the home and the single-bay garage. The rest of the home sustained severe smoke and heat damage. Nobody was injured in the blaze.

At this time, the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it is believed to have been an accident. 

Keene State College has set forth plans for a fully in-person fall semester, reports WCAX.

At this time, Keene State’s President, Melinda Treadwell, is stating that officials expect the COVID-19 pandemic to be in a better place in the fall as the vaccine continues to roll out. In a statement given Wednesday she said, “We are having a successful spring semester, and are actively planning a shift to additional on-campus and in-person community experiences for the fall 2021 semester.”

With the school moving fully in-person, Treadwell stressed that science on COVID-19 will still be followed. “Safety guided by science will remain a priority in the fall, and we will continue to carefully monitor the pandemic to make decisions accordingly.”

Along with full in-person instruction, the college expects to resume athletic events, on-campus student activities, and study abroad opportunities.

Keene is currently using a mix of in-person, hybrid, or online classes. 

The Springfield, Vermont Police Department has released a statement following a string of vehicle break-ins on Wednesday night.

According to the Facebook post, multiple vehicle break-ins were reported in the area of Hall Street, South Street, and Stanley Road. Allegedly, one of the incidents involved the perpetrator entering a garage and stealing a wallet from the vehicle inside.

The post asks anyone with video of the area, and who is willing to share “signs of activity”, to contact the department at 802-885-2113.

Furthermore, the post encourages citizens to not keep anything of value in their vehicles, “no matter how well you think you have it secured.” 

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department have released a warning to ice fishers about an upcoming deadline.

According to the release, state law dictates that all bobhouses must be removed from the ice before the end of the day on April 1st. However, this is dependent on ice conditions, and it may be necessary to remove them from the ice prior to this date.

Once owners move their bobhouses to the shoreline, they are required to be moved to their own property. Leaving bobhouses on public or private property without permission is a violation of state law. The release states that failure to comply with the removal of your bobhouse by April 1st can result in a fine and one-year loss of the owner’s fishing license. The NH Fish and Game Department reserves the right to seize any bobhouse not removed by the April 1st deadline.

For more information, contact the Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division at 603-271-3127. 

A Thetford, Vermont man is currently in custody following a single-car accident Monday in Norwich, reports the Vermont State Police-Royalton Barracks.

At approximately 7:15 PM on Monday, March 15th,  troopers responded to reports of a single-car accident on Interstate 91 North. Upon arrival at the scene of the accident, they were able to locate the vehicle’s operator, 31-year-old Joshua Jenks of Thetford.

An initial investigation led troopers to suspect that Jenks was under the influence of drugs. He was administered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and was arrested on suspicion of DUI drugs.

At the time of the crash, Jenks also had a young child in the car, his license was criminally suspended, and he had an active arrest warrant in VT.

He was processed and cited to appear in VT Superior Court Windsor Criminal Division on May 18th at 1:30 PM to answer to the following charges; DUI Drugs, Criminal DLS, Cruelty to a Child, and Warrant Arrest. J

enks was transported to, and lodged, at the Southern State Correctional Facility for lack of $200 bail on a VT warrant for driving with a suspended license. 

Following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases on-campus, Colby-Sawyer College has made changes to its quarantine housing, reports WMUR.

According to the report, the New London-based school currently has 57 active COVID-19 cases on-campus. This has forced the school to move towards remote learning. At this time, there are 18 students in isolation.

However, the dorm that was set aside for quarantining students has filled, a new isolation area has been set up in the gym. Following complaints about the living quality, school officials state that they added WiFi, electrical outlets, extra partitions, and study spaces into the area.

There are currently 81 additional students quartining in their dorm rooms, as they have been identified as a “close contact” of a COVID-19 patient.

On March 22nd, all students will be tested for the virus, and classes are expected to stay remote until at least March 24th. 

A routine traffic stop on Interstate 91 in Vermont ended with the arrest of a wanted man, reports the Vermont State Police-Westminster Barracks.

Reportedly, Trooper Joseph Galusha stopped a vehicle for a speeding violation at approximately 11 AM on Tuesday, March 16th. During the routine traffic stop, it was discovered that one of the vehicle’s occupants, 53-year-old Philip J. Protas of Springfield, had an active arrest warrant in the state of VT. Protas was taken into custody and transported to the Southern State Correctional Facility, where was held on $50 bail.

He is scheduled to appear in a White River Junction court on Wednesday, March 17th at 1:30 PM to answer to his charges.