WNTK Local News

A single-vehicle accident in Sharon, Vermont has led to the arrest of a Burlington man on multiple charges, reports the VT State Police-Royalton Barracks.

At approximately 5:15 AM on Tuesday, January 12th, troopers responded to the area of River and Howe Hill Road in Sharon to investigate a single-vehicle accident. The operator of the vehicle was alleged to have been intoxicated during the crash. Prior to the arrival of authorities, the operator, later identified as 29-year-old Eric Dow, had fled the scene.

A lengthy K-9 search of the area led to the discovery of Dow at the Sharon Auto Center on Route 14. He performed multiple field sobriety tests before being arrested on suspicion of DUI. He was then transported to the Royalton Barracks to be processed for DUI Refusal and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.

Dow was issued a citation to appear in Windsor Superior Court on February 2nd at 8 AM to answer to these charges. 

The Hartford, Vermont police chief has announced his resignation, reports WCAX.

According to the report, Police Chief Philip Kasten will be leaving the position on February 5th.

In a statement, the Town of Hartford said, “We are appreciative of all Chief Kasten has given to and done for the Town over nearly six years. His leadership, professionalism, and expertise will be missed.” He is reportedly leaving the position to join his family in Maryland.

Deputy Police Chief Brad Vail has been appointed as the interim chief of police. Kasten has agreed to consult with Vail on policy matters while the department completes the implementation of multiple public safety initiatives. 

A long-running New Hampshire sled dog race has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reports WCAX.

The Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby, which dates back to 1929, was scheduled to run from February 12th to the 14th, but has now been called off.

President of the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club, Jim Lyman, stated, “Everywhere we turned we couldn’t make it work because of COVID.” He went on to say that social distancing restrictions would have prohibited the event’s traditional spectator viewing areas.

The sustained closure of the US-Canada border to non-essential traffic also created a hurdle, as between half and two-thirds of the race’s mushers who compete in the open-class events hail from Quebec.

Prior to this year, the event had been cancelled 13 times since the 1980’s due to poor snow conditions. 

A Sunday afternoon snowmobile accident in Croydon has hospitalized two individuals, reports the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

According to the report, the accident occurred at approximately 1 PM on Sunday, January 10th, when a snowmobile crashed into boulders due to the operator losing control while traversing a hill. The vehicle was being operated by 21-year-old Anna Sandell of Portola Valley, California. She was accompanied by her passenger, Jack McMahon, 20, of Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Reportedly, a family member of Sandell who was riding with them provided assistance and contacted 911, while other witnesses rushed to help. In addition to nearby good Samaritans, on site assistance was provided by; Croydon Fire and Rescue, Newport Ambulance, New London Ambulance, Grantham Police, and Fish and Game.

Sandell suffered life-threatening injuries in the accident, and was airlifted by DHART helicopter to Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. McMahon was taken to DHMC via a personal vehicle for further evaluation of his serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Both riders were wearing helmets at the time of the crash, and authorities believe inexperience to be the cause of the incident. 

A Wells River, Vermont woman has been charged with DUI following an incident Saturday night in Bethel.

According to a press release from the VT State Police, troopers received reports of a vehicle driving “all over” the road at inconsistent speeds, at approximately 7:20 PM on Saturday, January 9th, 2021. Troopers from the VSP-Royalton Barracks were able to track down the vehicle and bring it to a stop.

An initial investigation discovered that the operator, 54-year-old Lisa Woickelman of Wells River, had been driving under the influence of intoxicants.

She was subsequently cited to appear in VT Superior Court, Windsor Criminal Division on January 26th at 1:30 PM to answer to the charge of DUI II-Refusal. 

A Haverhill, New Hampshire man led three separate police departments on a wild chase on Friday, reports WCAX.

Troopers from the Vermont State Police reportedly first saw a Silver Pontiac sedan at approximately 11 PM. The vehicle was operating with no lights on, and was driving through snow banks on Route 302 East.

Authorities attempted to stop the vehicle, but it kept driving. The chase rolled on through both NH and VT before ending due to the deployment of spikes in Newbury, VT.

Upon investigating the vehicle, the operator was identified as 48-year-old William Hoffman of Haverhill, NH.

He was then released on a citation to appear in Orange County Superior Court to answer to the charges of Gross Negligent Operation, Excessive Speed, and Attempting to Elude. 

The Claremont School District will be moving to remote learning beginning tomorrow, January 8th, 2021.

According to a Facebook post from E-Ticker News of Claremont, on Wednesday night the Claremont School Board voted to move to remote learning for students in all of the district’s schools, for the next six school days. The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the area, as well as the impact of quarantines and absences on school operations, are pointed to as reasons for the decision.

Remote learning will run one week, until Friday, January 15th. The post indicates that students who go to school in-person, and are members of the AB cohort, will be returning to school on Tuesday, January 19th. There will be no school that Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day. 

A probable cause hearing has been denied for the New Hampshire man who allegedly killed his wife’s lover before forcing her to decapitate him, reports the Associated Press.

In September 2020, 30-year-old Armando Barron allegedly kidnapped and murdered Keene’s Jonathan Amerault, age 25. In October 2020, Barron was charged with capital murder, along with threatening and beating his wife, who has been also been charged in connection to this crime for falsifying evidence.

His attempt at arguing for a probable cause hearing centered around the fact, “the only evidence against him is the word of his wife.”

This request was denied by a judge on Thursday, who noted that this argument was not sufficient enough to receive such a hearing. 

The Vermont Department of Health has released the latest COVID-19 data for Wednesday, January 6th, 2021.

On Tuesday, 106 new COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the state’s total to 8.158 cases since March 2020.

There were three new COVID-19-related deaths announced on Tuesday. This put VT over the 150 death threshold, with the total number of COVID-19 deaths sitting at 152. To date, 5,546 individuals have recovered from the virus.

There are now 33 Vermonters in hospital for COVID-19 related issues, with six of these citizens being in intensive care units. Seven hospitalizations are currently under investigation.

At this time, 320 travelers are being monitored for symptoms, 182 contacts are being monitored, and 11,911 individuals have completed the monitoring process. A total of 722,745 COVID-19 tests have been conducted statewide, with 269,690 individual citizens having been tested.

VT’s current seven-day average positivity rate is sitting at 2.8%. 

A new lawsuit has been brought against the state of Vermont over where children attend school, reports WCAX.

According to the report, attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center filed the suit, alleging that there is unequal access to education in the state. Reportedly, many VT communities allocate public funds to go towards K-12 education. Some of these towns have their own schools to send students to, but some do not.

The lawsuit states that all VT children should be eligible for public school choice, while not being required to have to go to the school in their town or city, and still have the education paid for.

Families being represented in the lawsuit state that the schools where they live do not meet their students’ needs.