On Tuesday, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu announced that the state is submitting its application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Lost Wages” assistance program, reports nhpr.
This program aims to provide an extra federal unemployment benefit of $300 per week. The “Lost Wages” program allows states to opt-in with a 25% match. Sununu stated that recipients who currently receive $100 in benefits a week would count towards this match. Citizens who receive less than this total will be bumped up to $100 a week.
The program will reportedly be a boon to NH’s economy, by injecting $340 million over the next 22 weeks.
NH can participate and cover those receiving benefits at a cost of less than $10 million from the state’s existing unemployment funds, stated the governor.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellations of multiple upcoming local events, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.
According to a press release from the Claremont Firefighter’s Association, the 2020 Golf Tournament, Fire Prevention Parade, and the Turkey Raffle have all been cancelled. The first two events typically take place in October, with the latter usually occurs on the first Thursday of November.
“The Association thanks all those who have participated in our events over the years. We certainly appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you again in 2021,” stated the release.
Colby-Sawyer College has announced the hiring of their next Swim & Diving Head Coach, reports Swim Swam.
Colby-Sawyer’s Director of Athletics Mitch Capelle has announced that the school is hiring Helaina Sacco to head the Men’s and Women’s Swim & Diving teams. Sacco will also become the Aquatics Coordinator at the campus’ Knight Natatorium.
The new head coach stated, “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead and grow the Colby-Sawyer programs. I can’t wait to get to know the student-athletes and work with them to build the team. I want to thank Mitch Capelle for granting me this opportunity and am looking forward to getting started.”
Prior to taking the Colby-Sawyer head coaching gig, Sacco had spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College.
She also accrued coaching experience at three other colleges after earning a Master’s degree from Loughborough University in England in 2013.
A fire at a Bristol, New Hampshire motor home on Saturday proved fatal, reports WMUR.
The fire on Nyberg Road was reported, by a neighbor, at approximately 2 PM on Saturday.
According to State Fire Marshal Paul Parisi, the man inside the mobile home was pulled from the flames by crew, but was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Crews at the scene fought with heavy smoke and flames. Parisi stated that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the lack of working smoke detectors played a part in the man not escaping safely.
The man’s identity has not been released at this time. He was the sole person inside the home.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott has extended the COVID-19 “State of Emergency” order, reports WCAX.
The emergency order, which was set to expire on August 15th, will now run until at least September 15th. This extension marks the fifth time the end date has been pushed since a “State of Emergency” was first imposed in March.
The latest order gives more power to individual cities and towns to tighten and enforce their own rules for bars and clubs, such as imposing capacity limits or earlier curfews.
Scott stated that this order is aimed largely at the City of Burlington, which will be welcoming back a large number of students to the University of Vermont campus.
New Hampshire is set to ease visitation rules at some long-term care facilities, reports WMUR.
State health officials announced on Thursday that residents in most long-term care facilities can now designate one person to visit them inside their buildings. Facial coverings and social distancing must be maintained during visits. At this time, some non-essential personnel, such as hairdressers, can now enter the facilities as well.
According to the report, if this plan goes well after two weeks, residents may be able to designate two residents to visit. Communal dining and social activities at the facilities could resume as well.
Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette stated, “If we start to see outbreaks or another surge in counties, there is a very good possibility that we need to pull back, and the facilities need to have that flexibility to be able to pull back and move forward.”
There are still COVID-19 outbreaks at two long-term care facilities at this time, and those two will not have loosened restrictions.
At a Tuesday press conference, Vermont Governor Phil Scott, along with various other state officials, announced plans and regulations for the Fall 2020 high school sports season, reports WCAX.
According to the guidelines, schools can begin in-person, coach-led practices sessions no earlier than the first day of school. Facial coverings are to be worn by all coaches, officials, players, staff and spectators at all times. However, an exemption has been made for Cross Country athletes, as long as social distancing is maintained during practice and competition.
For outdoor sports that require little-to-no physical contact; practice sessions and interscholastic meets can be staged as long as attendance does not surpass 150 people. Meets can contain groupings, as long as different groups do not interact.
For outdoor sports involving short-duration, incidental contact; Field Hockey and Soccer are permitted to begin practices and interscholastic competitions, however jamboree-style events will not be prohibited.
For Volleyball, teams may hold indoor practice sessions with little-to-no physical contact. Schools can conduct inter-school system scrimmages if all players wear facial coverings. The guidelines state that outdoor interscholastic matches could be considered, but only if all participants wear facial coverings.
For sports that require high levels of contact; Football and Spirit are permitted to hold practice sessions with limited to no contact physical conditioning and skill building drills. Full contact scrimmages, competitions, and stunting will not be allowed for the Fall 2020 season. For football, 7-on-7 flag football is being considered.
A local urgent care clinic is set to close due to a sizable financial hit, reports Becker’s Hospital Review.
The Claremont-based Valley Regional Hospital opened an urgent care clinic in Charlestown, New Hampshire, last September. This facility operated for approximately five months prior to its closure in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a Facebook post from Valley Regional, this closure is now permanent.
The hospital stated, “Like most hospitals, Valley has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and though we have started reopening services, it is clear that during this time of ongoing national and state emergency, we must concentrate our resources at our Claremont campus.”
State employees in Vermont can now expect to work from home through the end of the year, reports NBC 5.
On Thursday, the VT Agency of Administration released a statement explaining the decision. “Doing our part to help Vermont continue to limit the spread of COVID-19, while continuing to provide critical services to Vermonters remains our top priority, and flexible work schedules and worksites are key to that mission,” Administration Secretary Susanne Young said in a statement. “While other aspects of daily life may remain uncertain, it is important that we provide state employees with some certainty about the expectation for when and how they return to their office settings.”
According to Young, a recent survey of several agencies and departments yielded interesting results. Employees found that tele-work provides them the flexibility to balance childcare, work schedules, and other COVID-19 challenges. A vast majority stated that they can conduct 100% of their work from home.
The agency stated that employees should receive an update prior to November 1, which will inform them of any further telework extensions.
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