WNTK Local News

A local family is raising money to install lights at a Lebanon skate park, reports WCAX.

The Rusty Bearings Skate Park was built in the memory of Tyler Kirshner, a well-known skater and blogger who passed unexpectedly in 2015. His family raised $350,000 to build the park, and have now raised $100,000 to install lights.

Reportedly, area skaters have said the lights will be a great addition to the park, especially in the heat of summer.

The lights are scheduled to make their debut on June 30th and will reportedly stay on until 11 PM during the summer months. 

An early morning motor vehicle accident in Newport proved fatal, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.

At approximately 4:50 AM, the Newport Police and Fire Departments responded to a collision between two vehicles on Maple Street. Reportedly, 47-year-old Robert E. Bushway Jr. of Lempster was traveling eastbound on a Suzuki motorcycle when he collided with a GMC pickup truck trying to turn left out of a private driveway. This vehicle was being operated by Dennis White Jr., 49, of Newport.

Police report that, ““The Suzuki motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the GMC pickup truck, ejecting him from the motorcycle. Emergency medical aid was rendered to Bushway, who had sustained life threatening injuries in the collision. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

The incident is still under investigation, although a preliminary examination does not point towards impairment or distraction leading to the crash. No arrests have been made at this time.

If you have any information, please contact Newport Police Detective Stephen A. Lee at 603-863-3232.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock is offering a free virtual summer camp for kids in July, reports Fosters.

CHAD (Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth) staff are partnering with businesses and other community organizations in New Hampshire and Vermont to bring the summer program into area homes. Camp CHAD will provide it’s campers daily and weekly activities from Monday, July 6th through August 21st, all online.

Kristin LaFromboise, a CHAD community project manager, states that activities will include art, cooking programs, golf lessons, history, science, STEAM programs, and more. To date, 300 kids across the two states have signed up.

The schedule is still being developed, but commitments have been made by; Artis Tree, the Aviation Museum of NH, Goffstown Public Library, Montshire Museum of Science, the NH Fisher Cats, Stonebridge Country Club, and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

Families can register their children for the free program at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/camp-chad-tickets-107725868974. 

According to health officials, there has been no sign of increased COVID-19 spread due to recent protests, reports WMUR.

Protests largely broke out after the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolist when Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. In the three weeks since, health officials have found that contact tracing shows no connection to any outbreaks.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan stated, “We are investigating each and every case. We reach out to people to get information on their close contacts so we can try and prevent further transmission, but I’m not aware of any cases that have come from large group gatherings like the protests.” Governor Chris Sununu has stated that he is more worried about large gatherings indoors, although no broader conclusions can be made at this point.

Health officials see contact tracing remains a large component of the state’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Chan asks citizens to continue practicing social distancing and wearing cloth face masks in public. 

Investigators from the Vermont State Police are seeking assistance identifying the woman who was found dead in the Winooski River last week, reports WCAX.

On Friday, two people reportedly found human remains in the river. Police retrieved the remains on Saturday, and stated on Tuesday that she was found near 31 Welch Park Drive in Middlesex. At this time, she is not believed to have been reported missing.

The victim is described as a woman between the ages of 30-50 years old, weighing approximately 200 pounds and standing 5’3″. On her left arm are tattoos reading “Patty” and “Sue”, along with several other tattoos on various areas of her body. The woman was wearing a large ring on her right index finger with a carved face and a headdress.

If you have any information, please call the Middlesex State Police Barracks at 802-229-9191.

The cause of death is still pending, along with DNA testing and examination of dental records. 

The Vermont Senate has passed a bill that would implement new police use-of-force guidelines, reports the Associated Press.

The bill would ban officers from using choke-holds and likewise maneuvers, as well as requiring officers to intervene if they witness a fellow officer using prohibited restraint. On Wednesday, a second bill was given approval that requires law enforcement agencies in the state to comply with racial data reporting requirements.

While VT legislators have reportedly been considering similar proposals for a while now, they felt an urgency to pass these measures in the wake of the recent deaths of George Floyd and other POC (people of color) at the hands of police.

Both bills will now need to pass through the House of Representatives.

Police are investigating the suspicious disappearance of a Barre, Vermont man, reports WCAX.

On April 15th, 38-year-old Ralph “Rizz” Jean-Marie was reported missing, and he has not been seen since April 13th. Jean-Marie was staying at the Hollow Inn, and had a fight with his significant other. He left on foot, but did not take his identification, glasses, medications, and wallet. He reportedly has several under-lying health conditions, making this action highly unusual to police. He has not been heard from since.

According to Barre City Police Chief Tim Bombardier, due to the unusual circumstance, they are treating the situation as suspicious and are moving forward as though someone has done him harm. The department has followed up on several leads, searched many times, and asked other law enforcement agencies for help to no avail.

They ask anyone with information to contact them. 

A report from the Vermont Department of Health has indicated that overdose deaths doubled last year’s totals during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first two months, reports WCAX.

Last March, there were four fatal overdoses, while March 2020 saw nine. In April 2019, there were eight deaths, but this year there were 17. Data also shows that non-fatal opioid overdoses for every-10 thousand people who visit VT emergency rooms have also doubled.

According to Cynthia Seivwright, the director of the VT Department of Health’s alcohol and drug abuse programs, “The more isolation you see, the more depression, the more anxiety people get, and then they have a tendency to use more.”

Michael Jonhson, the head of Turning Point’s Springfield location, face-to-face meetings for those struggling with addiction are beginning to ramp back up, although the walk-in substance free space remains closed.

In March, VT launched a new online resource, VTHelpLink, which they hopes will assist those who are reaching out for help. 

On Sunday, the Claremont Fire Department was called on to battle a brush fire on 111 Roberts Hill Road, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.

At approximately 5:50 PM, the call was received and initial fire crews arrived on scene at approximately 6. Due to the high-heat and remote location of the fire, an area of around one-half acre of woodland, off-duty personnel were also called in to battle the flame.

According to the report, 13 firefighters fought the flames, quickly knocking them down once a water supply was established. There was no structural damage reported. All crew were off the scene at around 7:30 PM.

The Ascutney, Cornish, and Newport Fire Department’s covered the Claremont station while they were fighting the fire. 

A fire in the Blodgett Landing section of Newbury last night required the aid of multiple towns, reports the Newbury Fire Department in a Facebook post.

The Newbury FD deployed three rescue engines, one tanker, one rescue to the fire. They were accompanied by members of the Newbury Police Department, New London FD, New London Ambulance and Sunapee FD.

Firefighters were reportedly able to control the house fire to one room of the two story building. Flames were quickly extinguished, but personnel remained on-scene for the next two hours to overhaul damage and check for extensions.

Paramedics from the Newbury EMS and New London Ambulance checked on the occupants of the home, and deemed that nobody was injured during the blaze.

Water was pumped from Lake Sunapee to extinguish the fire.