WNTK Local News

Most of the lights on Dartmouth College’s menorah have been shot out, according to the college’s president.

According to the Associated Press, President Phil Hanlon states that the damage was discovered on Wednesday night. Currently, the Hanover Police Department and campus security are investigating.

In a statement given Thursday to the Valley News, Hanlon called it, “an appalling act of anti-Semitism” done during the celebration of Hanukkah. He went on to call it far more than, “vandalism or a prank, for it seeks to diminish the rich culture and history of the Jewish people.” At this time, it is believed that the lights were shot with a pellet gun.

Hanlon hopes to have the menorah repaired as soon as possible. 

South Pomfret, Vermont’s Suicide Six ski area is set to open on December 23rd.

According to a report from the Mountain TImes, the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s Suicide Six Ski Area will be opening, but with some COVID-19 adjustments.

The ski area’s operating schedule will be shortened to five days a week, with lifts running from Wednesday to Sunday. Face masks/coverings will be required for all employees and guests at all times in; outdoor seating areas, parking lots, the lodge, when loading and riding lifts, and during all lessons. Masks can be removed while eating and on the trails.

The lodge will reportedly have capacity limits, and guests will be limited to visiting the ski shop, rental room, and bathrooms. Screening will be mandatory when entering the base lodge. Individuals will not be able to store personal items inside the lodges. Also, all food and beverages will be offered outside as opposed to inside the lodges. The outdoor deck will now feature additional seating, fire pits, and wind cover areas.

Pass prices from last season have remained at the reduced rate for this year, with Daily Passes possibly being limited during peak periods. 

The New Hampshire Department of Corrections, along with six employees, are being sued in connection to the death of a Cornish man three years ago at the NH State Prison for Men in Concord.

According to a Patch report, the estate of Phillip Borcuk, who was 34-years-old at the time of death, is alleging that he died after the corrections staff in the Residential Treatment Unit tased him several times, then hit and pushed him to the floor of his cell, before restraining him with his hand tied behind his back. The lawsuit filed by attorney Larry Vogelman states, “It has long been established that persons placed on their stomach, rear cuffed and restrained may die from positional asphyxiation.”

At this time, the state has not publicly released Borcuk’s cause of death. However, on December 6th, 2017, the Department of Corrections issued a release stating that officers discovered him engaging in self-harm.

An investigative report from the NH State Police says that Borcuk was found vomiting blood into his cell’s toilet and banging his head onto the corner of the sink. Two officers then instructed him to “get down” while he was bleeding from his head. According to Vogelman, “The defendants claimed that Phillip faced the officers with his hands up in a ‘fighting stance’.”He writes that an officer then tased Borcuk and struck him numerous times. Borcuk was cuffed from the rear and placed on a stretcher lying on his stomach. Vogelman states that Borcuk ceased breathing on the way to the medical unit, and died on the floor as CPR was attempted. The lawyer states, “All individual defendants knew or should have known of the risk to Phillip of placing him on his stomach, rear cuffed and restrained to a stretcher.”

The lawsuit will be seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. 

Lawmakers in the state of Vermont have agreed to extend the Everyone Eats program.

WCAX reports that on Tuesday, December 15th, lawmakers allocated $400,000 towards the Everyone Eats program to keep it funded through the end of 2020. Without these additional funds, the program would have run out of money on Tuesday.

According to the VT Farmers Food Center’s website, Everyone Eats is a “food relief program that leverages CARES Act funds to engage local restaurants in making to-go meals for anyone who has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis due to unemployment, underemployment, homelessness, or other challenges.” At this time, approximately 100 restaurants statewide have participated in the program, providing half-a-million meals to citizens in need.

Without a second stimulus package from the US Congress, the program’s funds will run out at year’s end. 

Police have identified the wrong-way driver who caused several accidents Sunday in Vermont on Interstate 91 traveling through Dummerston, reports the VT State Police-Westminster Barracks.

According to their press release, the driver was Bernard McDonald, 65, of Westborough, Massachusetts. He has now been charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Excessive Speed, Gross Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and Attempting to Elude.

Injured in the first vehicle struck by McDonald were; 34-year-old Zhigud Lin, 36-year-old Ding Changzhang, 43-year-old Carlos Nabarro, and 53-year-old Yushen Chen. All sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries and transported Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Daniel Perry, 31, of Charlestown, NH sustained minor injuries (neck/back pain) and was seen at Brattleboro’s Memorial Hospital.

There were two uninvolved vehicles that also sustained damage during the incident; 18-year-old Putney resident Chandre Pero’s vehicle after rolling into the shoulder to avoid the crash, and 36-year-old Williamston, MA resident Laura Gura’s whose vehicle was struck by debris.

Anyone who witnessed the incident on Interstate 91 through Dummerston is encouraged to contact Trooper Ryan Miller at 802-722-4600. 

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon has received a $5.25 million gift, the second-largest in the hospital’s history.

The gift comes from D-H Trustee Bill and Sue Conaty, the former of which served 40 years at General Electric. According to the Associated Press’ report, the money will be going towards a new, five-story building on the Lebanon campus, which will house patients.

The building, currently called the Patient Pavilion, is set to open in 2023. The Pavilion will consist of 64 patient rooms to help address the needs of patients from around the state of New Hampshire, as DHMC is the state’s sole Trauma 1 Center.

Reportedly, almost 300 critically ill patients are turned away from DHMC each month due to lack of hospital beds. 

The Randolph, Vermont woman accused of killing her boyfriend during an altercation on Saturday has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge, reports WCAX.

According to the report, police were notified of a stabbing at Randolph’s 13 Park Street at approximately 4:30 PM. Upon arrival, they discovered Concepcion Cruz, 44, inside the residence. They then apprehended 29-year-old Victoria Griffin for suspicion of second-degree murder, and on Monday, she pleaded not guilty to this charge, claiming she acted in self-defense.

Court documents state that Griffin has admitted to stabbing Cruz following a verbal altercation. Griffin reportedly asked Cruz to leave the home and if he didn’t, she would “kill him.” Cruz “responded in disbelief” before Griffin allegedly stabbed him multiple times with several different steak knives. There were four children, between the ages of 12 and 16, at the time of the incident.

Court paperwork states that Griffin suffers from depression and has been in multiple residential treatment facilities.

She is currently being held without bail. 

According to the Associated Press, a Jaffrey, New Hampshire man was stabbed to death in his home on Saturday.

On Saturday, December 11th, 23-year-old Jake Seaburg was stabbed in the chest. An autopsy determined that the death was a homicide, states the NH Attorney General’s Office. The circumstances of the incident are still under investigation.

Authorities state that there is no current evidence to suggest there is a larger threat to the public. 

Dartmouth College in Hanover had to remove 86 students from campus for violating the school’s COVID-19 guidelines during the Fall 2020 semester, according to The Union Leader.

Throughout the past months, the school had kept the number of students kicked off campus hidden in order to protect the identities of the students, but on Wednesday, Provost Joseph Helble provided statistics. The semester saw about 600 reports of possible violations, ending in 86 students losing on-campus housing privileges, 124 students receiving warnings, and 397 reports where no action was needed.

Helble also stated that students removed from campus will no longer be required to stay off-campus for four terms, now it will only be two, with all removal terms being made retroactive. 

According to New Hampshire health officials, the state is expected to receive 12,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in a shipment next week, reports the Associated Press.

Governor Chris Sununu stated during Thursday’s press conference that Perry Plummer, the former Department of Safety Assistant Commissioner, will be helping to oversee distribution. NH’s vaccination game plan aims to prioritize healthcare workers, nursing home residents, and first-responders, which all together will be about 100,000 citizens. Sununu states that the first shipments should be enough to reach 10,000 to 40,000 of these individuals.

The state of NH is seeking volunteers to help administer the vaccine such as; interpreters, security, and transportation. Those interested in volunteering, please visit nhresponds.org.