WNTK Local News

Four towns in the state of Vermont are set to gain access to higher-speed internet service, reports the Valley News.

ECFiber, a community-owned telecommunications company in the Connecticut River Valley region, has agreed to extend their services to the towns of Corinth, Fairlee, West Fairlee and Windsor at their select boards’ request. These four will be joining 23 other “member towns” of the East-Central Vermont Telecommunication District.

The boards approved this motion earlier in May, although it could be months before the service is up-and-running. 

Beaches in New Hampshire are set to re-open on June 1st, reports WMUR.

In a statement on Friday, Governor Chris Sununu announced the re-opening, though several restrictions will be in place. Sununu stated that coastal state beaches, like Hampton, will be open for “active” recreation, which means activities such as running, surfing, swimming, and walking. No sitting or playing games in the sand will be permitted. To adhere to social distancing guidelines, state parking lots will be limited to 50% capacity. There are currently no restraints on private lots, as those will be governed by town guidelines.

Sununu gave these guidelines while also outlining the re-opening of acupuncture shops, massage parlors, small group fitness classes, tattoo shops, and youth/amateur athletics. All may begin on June 1st. 

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is asking President Donald Trump to extend the NH National Guard’s activation through the end of September, reports WCAX.

In an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration had approved 1000 members of the NH National Guard to give aid through June 24th. Sununu is now asking for 450 members to continue helping the state’s pandemic response from June 24th through September 30th.

He says that these services members are critical in staffing testing sites, distributing Personal Protective Equipment, and helping food bank operations. 

A fire early Sunday morning in Claremont forced four adults to jump from a second-story window, reports E-Ticker News of Claremont.

At approximately 3 AM, Claremont fire personnel were dispatched to fight a blaze at 86 Chestnut Street, where they arrived two minutes later. According to Fire Chief Bryan Burr, the flame engulfed the front of the first-story. Soon after, the Newport and Cornish Fire Departments arrived on scene. Four adults in the home were forced to jump from a second-story window due to the fire exit being blocked. All were transported to Valley Regional Hospital with undisclosed injuries.

According to authorities, the fire appears accidental and non-suspicious. 

Vermont health officials have released the latest COVID-19 statistics for the date of May 21, 2020, via WCAX.

As of today, there have been 950 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, which have lead to 54 deaths. 25,701 tests have been conducted statewide. There are currently 32 people being monitored for symptoms, while 867 have completed the monitoring process. So far, 827 VT residents have recovered from the virus.

Chittenden County currently has the most positive cases in the state with 439, while Essex County has the fewest with only two.

Last week, Governor Phil Scott extended the state’s “state-of-emergency” until June 15th. 

Unemployment claims in New Hampshire have dropped for the sixth straight week, reports WMUR.

While more than 2.4 million US citizens applied for unemployment this past week, only approximately 8,000 were from NH. Numbers have continued to drop week to week, from their nearly 40,000 citizens high, to the 8,333 citizens who applied this week. This number was a drop of approximately 2,000 from the week ending in May 9th.

According to Employment Security Deputy Commissioner Richard Lavers, NH currently doubles the rate of unemployment decline of the current national rate. He also reports that the number of unemployment claims paid out have dropped from 117,438 last week to 115,267 this week.

Lavers states that as more jobs begin to re-open, his department will begin to organize job fairs online, although they are not yet sure how to do this. 

On Friday, the Vermont Air National Guard are set to perform a F-35 flyover of the state to honor COVID-19 responders and essential workers, reports WCAX.

The F-35 jets will take off from their base in South Burlington at noon, and will cross the state in a flight that will reportedly take 90 minutes.

According to WCAX, “The flight path of the formation of four F-35s will take them over Bennington, Berlin, Brattleboro, Burlington, Essex Junction, Middlebury, Morrisville, Newport, Randolph, Rutland, Springfield, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, Townshend, White River Junction and Windsor.”

The flyover is part of of an Air Force effort called Operation America Strong,which aims to honor healthcare workers across the United States. 

Restaurants in Vermont have been given the permission to resume outdoor dining, reports WCAX.

As of Friday, May 22, 2020, eateries in the state will be able to begin serving guests outdoors, as long as they follow certain guidelines.

These guidelines include; guests much call ahead, tables must be spaced at minimum 10 feet apart, members from two households only may sit together, seating limits cannot exceed 10 to a table, disposable menus are required, and operators must maintain a log of customers along with their contact information for 30 days to trace possible virus contraction.

These guidelines have been given by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 

New Hampshire health officials announced 149 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, reports WMUR.

Of the 149 cases, 51 were discovered during a testing event at the Villa Crest Nursing and Retirement Center in Manchester. The event comes as part of the state’s effort to test residents and staff members at long-term care facilities to identify asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.

At the press conference, eight new COVID-19 related deaths were announced, six of which came from long-term care centers. Governor Chris Sununu also announced the opening of two more fixed testing centers, in Londonderry and Keene, bringing the state’s total to nine.

The state is conducting an average of over 2000 tests per day. The 149 new cases bring NH’s total to 3868, and there have now been 190 deaths connected to the virus. 

A structural fire in Claremont on Tuesday has left a home uninhabitable, reports the Eagle Times.

The Claremont Fire Department received reports of a fire at 131 Mulberry Street at approximately 3:40 PM, and personnel were on site two minutes later. Crews reportedly worked to extinguish the flame until about 4:40 PM. The fire caused extensive damage to the one-and-a-half story residence, and it has been deemed uninhabitable. According to authorities, several cats from the house were rescued, and nobody was injured. Most of the family who currently occupied the residence’s belongings were lost in the blaze.

The Claremont FD received support from other local fire personnel including; Ascutney, Cornish, and Newport.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, though it does not currently seem to be suspicious.