WNTK Local News

The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles is set to re-open three offices on an appointment-only system next week, reports NBC 5.

According to DMV Commissioner Wanda Minoli, offices in Montpelier, Rutland, and South Burlington will reopen on August 31st.

Beginning Thursday, a reservation portal will be launched on the VT DMV’s website, which will allow citizens to reserve appointments. This service will be running 24 hours a day, but appointments will only take place from 8 AM to 4 PM.

Minoli stated that she hopes this will help eliminate the sizable backlog of mail-in service requests, and help build a plan for the reopening of other offices around VT.

Some services were already reinstated through call-in reservations earlier this summer.

A dedicated phone line will be opened next week for citizens who prefer to call in their reservation. 

A Vermont-based company is set to provide Wal-Marts across the country with breastfeeding pods, reports WCAX.

Mamava and Wal-Mart announced their partnership on Tuesday, along with plans to install “lactation suites” in more than 100 locations.

The pods can be accessed by using the Mamava cell phone app.

The suites, which are free to use, are freestanding spaces that aim to provide a clean, comfortable, and private space to breastfeed or pump.

Wal-Mart is the first retailer to use the Mamava pods in a store setting. 

Mamava, which is based out of Burlington, began operation in 2013.

Further details have been released regarding the untimely death of an infant in Claremont, reports WMUR.

The death was announced Sunday via a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

At approximately 7:40 AM on Sunday, Claremont police responded to a 911 call from a home on Winter Street.

Upon arrival, police found 7-day-old Samara Hutnick in medical distress. The infant was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

At this time, the cause and manner of death are being withheld, pending the close of the state Attorney General’s Office’s investigation.

Additional details will be released at a later date. 

A Windsor County woman was in court Monday after allegedly injuring her young child, reports WCAX.

Earlier this month, Chester Police were called to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after a 5-year-old was admitted with bruising and a fractured arm.

According to the officers, Ariel Cesan’s, the child’s caregiver, story was not consistent with the injuries sustained.

Cesan, a 25-year-old Chester woman, is now facing charges of first-degree aggravated assault and cruelty to a child with serious bodily injury. 

Restaurants around New Hampshire can return to 100% capacity, reports WMUR.

On Friday, Governor Chris Sununu announced that eating establishments around the state could now re-open to 100% capacity, with the caveat that six feet of distance remains between parties. Until Friday, counties in southern NH were still limited to 50% capacity, while northern NH had already arrived at the 100% milestone.

According to Sununu, there have not been any signs of increased COVID-19 spread in locations that have fully reopened, leading to his decision. Some restaurants may need to stay at limited capacity if they do not have the space to keep groups six feet apart.

Sununu finished by stating that if COVID-19 numbers begin trending up around NH, the decision may have to be revisited. 

A Friday night fire in Claremont has destroyed a local home, reports the Valley News.

According to the report, firefighters responded to the fire at approximately 5:40 PM. Upon arrival at the blaze at 73 McCusker Place, they found the home “well-involved” with the fire. The fire was quickly knocked down and reportedly under control by 5:54 PM.

However, the structure sustained “extensive fire damage” and smoke, heat damage to portions of the building not directly hit by the flames. The mobile home was deemed a total loss, but no injuries have been reported.

According to Capt. Chris Pixley, a Claremont fire investigator, the cause was “improperly disposed of smoking material.” 

The Vermont State Police have released traffic stop data from 2019, reports NBC 5.

According to NBC 5, the VSP’s report found that there is racial disparity in terms of who gets ticketed. Out of 57,971 motor vehicle stops that the report analyzes, 93.5% involved white drivers. Approximately 6% of other stops involved POC (people of color). The report states that only 31% of these stops ended in the drivers receiving a ticket.

The demographic breakdown of those who receive tickets is as follows; Asian operators 49.5%, Hispanic operators 45.3%, Black operators 42.9%, White operators 36.6%, and Native American operators 36.2%. This is where police cited the aforementioned racial disparity.

According to Captain Gary Scott, the Director of Fair and Impartial Policing & Community Affairs for the VSP, the force is now screening results, training troopers, and trying to reduce bias in their policing.

Scott stated, “All that plays into it, and to still see disparate rates in these tickets is concerning and frustrating in a lot of ways, but we continue to work with our community partners to continue to try to get to the best we can do with that. We want to tackle this head on.”

The VSP is reportedly looking to hire an education specialist with the aim to expand how much Scott’s team can interact with troopers and stop bias. 

A Mount Ascutney School District board member has resigned following swearing during a video meeting, reports WCAX.

According to the report, board member Beth Carter forgot to mute her microphone during the video meeting last week, and she was captured using the F-word in reference to the district’s teachers. At the time, more than 70 people were streaming the discussion on schools re-opening.

Catherine Engwall, president of the teachers’ union and teacher at Windsor High School remarked, “Nobody likes to hear comments like that.”

The Valley News reported that Carter apologized for “inappropriately expressing frustration on the data regarding school opening from teachers’ perspective.”

The Claremont Fire Department was called to structure fire early Wednesday morning, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.

At approximately 1:52 AM, Claremont Safety Services were dispatched to a 2.5 story apartment building at 24 Belding Street. 

“The First Due fire apparatus was on scene at 1:54 a.m. and reported fire in a 1st floor living unit of a 2-1/2 story apartment building. The fire was quickly knocked down with a single hose line. The fire was contained to the apartment of origin. One person living in the apartment was transported to Valley Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” reported Claremont Fire Chief Bryan Burr.

According to Burr, the blaze caused severe fire, heat, smoke, and water damage to the one apartment, but did not affect the others in the building.

The fire remains under investigation. 

New Hampshire State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan gave an update on the state’s COVID-19 statistics Tuesday, reports nhpr.

Dr. Chan announced one new COVID-19 related death. He stated that the victim was a resident of a long-term care facility. This marks the 424th death linked to the virus since the outbreak began earlier this year.

13 new confirmed cases were also announced, bringing NH’s tally to 7,017.

Dr. Chan stated, “We continue to see low but persistent transmission in our communities.”