WNTK Local News

The minimum sentence for the driver in a failed suicide attempt which led to the death of a Vermont couple has been reduced by a year, reports the Union Leader.

In April 2015, Robert J. Dellinger of Pennsylvania and Sunapee, pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide-DUI and one count of second degree assault in connection to a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 89 in Lebanon. The accident occurred on December 7, 2013.

According to court documents, Dellinger was despondent and aiming to commit suicide when he drove his pickup truck across the median, colliding with a vehicle driven by 24-year-old Amanda Murphy. The crash killed Murphy, who was pregnant at the time, and her fiance in the passenger’s seat, 29-year-old Jason Timmons.

Dellinger, who has multiple sclerosis, filed a motion in December 2019 to suspend his sentences for negligent homicide, noting that his health had “seriously declined” and was being further threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Judge Lawrence MacLeod originally sentenced Dellinger to consecutive terms of between 4.5 years minimum and 10 years maximum on each of his negligent homicide convictions, and issued a suspended sentence of 3.5 to 7 years for the second degree assault conviction. MacLeod has stated that he will be suspending one of Dellinger’s negligent homicide-DUI convictions, but “otherwise the motion is denied consistent with this order.”

Dellinger will be eligible for parole in February 2022.

New Hampshire Fish and Game Officials are partially attributing the state’s rise in bear complaints to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports WCAX.

Andrew Timmins, the bear project leader in NH, has stated that dry weather has reduced natural food resources, which has pushed bears into residential areas. This has led to a rise in complaints from NH citizens.

Another possible factor, according to Timmins, is the pandemic. COVID-19 has led to more people staying home than usual, which has meant more garbage in outdoor garbage cans, which attract bears. Also, bird watchers have kept their feeders up longer into the summer.

Timmins is asking residents to secure trash receptacles and garbage bins, to remove their bird feeders, and bring in any pet food inside at night. 

New Hampshire health officials announced 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, reports WMUR.

These 26 new cases bring the state’s total number of cases for the duration of the pandemic to 6,660. Right now, 395 of these are still considered active.

One new hospitalization due to the virus was also announced, bringing the total to 697 hospitalized. As of now, 23 of these residents are still in hospital.

No new deaths were reported today, leaving the total number of deaths linked to the virus in NH at 417.

To date, 5,848 NH citizens have recovered from COVID-19. 

Authorities have announced the age of a tuber who died Saturday night in the Merrimack River, reports WMUR.

Police were called to the river just after 6 PM, near the Boscawen-Canterbury town lines, to the scene of a possible drowning. The 15-year-old male was transported to Concord Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to officials, he was swimming in the river with friends when he began to struggle. Witnesses attempted to help him, but he was dragged under and did not resurface until emergency crews located his body around 7:30 PM. First responders from marine patrol, Boscawen, and Concord all were called to the scene.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident are asked to contact State Police Lt. Scott McLain at 603-227-2118 or via email at scott.mclain@dos.nh.gov. 

Sturm, Ruger, and Co., a Connecticut based business with a large facility in Newport, have announced record earnings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Sentinel Source.

In the second quarter, sales jumped $130 million, leading to a net income of $18.6 million. Reportedly, these profits triple those from the same quarter last year. “This is probably the strongest level of demand I’ve seen,” stated CEO Christopher Killoy, who has been in the firearm business for 30 years.

Killoy attributed the increase in demand and profits to, “personal protection and home defense stemming from continuing COVID-19 pandemic; protests, demonstrations and civil unrest in many cities throughout the United States; and lastly, the call by some for the reduction in funding and authority of various law enforcement organizations.” A stronger interest in hunting due to COVID-19 closing many entertainment and recreation facilities was also deemed a factor.

The company managed to record these profits even though production could not meet demand. While production of units was higher in the second quarter than the first, the number of orders tripled, leading to a backlog of 767,000 guns. This number is six times larger than this time last  year.

The company will be putting the record profits towards capital improvements, and a special $5 dividend. 

New Hampshire health officials announced four more COVID-19 related deaths on Thursday, reports WMUR.

All four deaths were reportedly linked to outbreaks at long-term care facilities. To date, there have now been 415 deaths linked to the virus statewide, with a majority being at long-term care sites.

According to Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette, there were a total of 33 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Thursday, bringing NH’s total to 6,544. Two more NH citizens were hospitalized, bringing the pandemic’s total to 692.

As of July 29th, 5,710 NH citizens have recovered from the coronavirus. 

Barry Harwick has announced his retirement from coaching at Dartmouth College, the school has announced via press release.

Harwick, Class of ’77, served as the Marjorie and Herbert Chase ’30 Director of Track & Field and Cross Country for 28 years.

The program was very successful under Harwick, winning six Heptagonal titles in Men’s Cross Country, while advancing to the NCAA Championships 10 times, with the most recent trip occurring in 2016. His Track & Field teams have won the New England Outdoor Championships twice, while finishing runner-up five times. Nine times athletes under Harwick earned Most Outstanding Performer at Heps (five indoor, four outdoor). Harwick has coached a dozen All-American athletes across indoor/outdoor competition.

On the women’s side, Harwick’s teams during his six years as director, earning 15 indoor championships, 10 outdoor championships, five All-American nods, and one Heps Cross Country title.

Prior to taking the Dartmouth College job, Harwick coached Track and Cross Country at Bentley College.

In 1997, the Dartmouth grad coached the United States Cross Country team at the World Championships in Turin, Italy.

Dartmouth will be launching a countrywide search for his replacement immediately. 

The Windsor, Vermont Select Board have voted to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance prior to meetings, reports WCAX.

According to the report, the motion to cease reciting the pledge prior to meetings came on the heels of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and urged further by the recent nationwide protests against the United States’ perceived racial inequalities.

The Hartford, VT town Select Board also debated this topic recently, but no final decision was made on the matter.

Windsor town officials have stated that the motion only applies to select board meetings, and not to other town government or school district gatherings. 

A group of varsity student-athletes from Dartmouth College in Hanover have staged a protest, decrying the school’s cutting of it’s dive and swim teams, reports WMUR.

Earlier this month, Dartmouth announced that it would be cutting the men’s/women’s dive and swim teams, alongside three other varsity sports, due to budget cuts. Upon this announcement, a group of students began to organize the protest.

On Wednesday, student-athletes placed 853 pairs of goggles on the campus green. According to the report, each pair represents an area child who have received swimming lessons from team members in the past five years.

Organizers stated that the protest’s goal was to get the attention of school officials. “The program here is over 100 years old, and by eliminating this, we will be the only Ivy League that doesn’t have a varsity swim and dive program,” stated Junior Susannah Laster.

At the protest’s end, the goggles will be donated to the Trident Swim Foundation in New York. 

A local school principal has been fired following comments seen as controversial in a social media post, reports WCAX.

Tiffany Riley, the now former Windsor School principal, recently made comments about the Black Lives Matter movement that were seen as controversial by some in the community.

In a post on her personal Facebook, she stated, “I firmly believe that Black Lives Matter, but I DO NOT agree with the coercive measures taken to get to this point.” Riley continued, ““While I understand the urgency to feel compelled to advocate for black lives, what about our fellow law enforcement? What about all others who advocate for and demand equity for all?” She also stated that she does not think people should be made to choose the black race over the human race.

Following the Mount Ascutney School Board’s vote to terminate her, Board Chair Elizabeth Burrows released an announcement of her firing on Monday.

According to the WCAX report, an evidentiary hearing will be taking place in the coming weeks.