Local and regional news

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24 Hours of Giving Across New Hampshire Starts Tonight at 6pm

The annual, 24-hour online giving event for nonprofits is coming up. NH Gives is taking place from 6 p.m. Tonight (6/09) to 6 p.m. Tomorrow (6/10). People can choose which nonprofits to support by logging on to NHGives.org. Every gift of up to $1,000 will be matched by New Hampshire Charitable Foundation funds for the first $250,000 given during the event. More than 500 nonprofits across New Hampshire are participating and many are from right here in the Mount Washington Valley. Kathleen Reardon of the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits says the event takes on new meaning this year as nonprofits face the impact of the global pandemic. Check out the link below for all the details!

Go to NHGIVES.ORG for more information.

Please consider donating to these Mount Washington Valley Non-Profits…

Arts Council of Tamworth

Barnstormers Theatre

Children Unlimited Inc.

Conway Area Humane Society

Gibson Center for Senior Services

Granite Backcountry Alliance

Green Mountain Conservation Group

M&D Productions

Mount Washington Observatory

MWV Supports Recovery Coalition

Nansen Ski Club

North Conway Community Center

Upper Saco Valley Land Trust

White Mountain Community Health Center

…and numerous others.

 

 

 

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MISSING GIRL FROM FRYEBURG, ME – FOUND

UPDATE: Miranda Hicks has been found. Get all the details here.

 

The Fryeburg police just informed the Mount Washington Radio Group that there is a missing girl in Fryeburg, in the South Chatham Road area.  The description and call-in information is as follows:

White Female

Approx. Height: 5’7″

Approx. Weight: 130

Brown Hair with red streaks

Brown Eyes

Last seen in the South Chatham Road area this morning about 5am

Last seen wearing grey pajamas with pink and blue possibly a grey t shirt

If anyone has any information, please call the Fryeburg police @

207-743-4252

 

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LODGING UPDATE- NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THE MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kick off to the Mount Washington Valley’s next tourist season but with stay at home orders Governor Sununu’s emergency order restricting hotels and lodging providers to only offer housing to essential workers and vulnerable populations, it won’t be a blockbuster.

So where are we at now as a state and as a tourist destination?   Janice Crawford, Executive Director for the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce tells us: “We’re trying very hard to make sure we have a safe destination, we want to make sure people can trust us when they make reservations that we’ve been following all the guidelines required by the state and federal level and so I just want to share with our lodging properties and our Airbnb owners that we are very much opposed to allowing anyone to come into the state to stay.  Even from the state of New Hampshire because at this point in time, the state has not opened up lodging.”  There are currently no guidance documents from the state of New Hampshire to follow at this time to ensure the safety of lodging staff or guests.

The NH.gov website states that for safety purposes people should remain in their home state until additional restrictions are lifted.  It also states that individuals who travel to and stay in New Hampshire for an extended period of time to self-quarantine for a 2 week period.

Governor Sununu spoke with WMUR and explains; ”Hotels, especially in New Hampshire, because of tourism,  are designed on the idea that we are going to attract people from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut .  Normally we would like to have those folks right here, but to open right now and attract that tourism business in we need to see the other state’s numbers go down.  Here we are looking at different guidance and how it might be done here and put a lot of guidelines and restrictions but, we are definitely not there yet and unfortunately, I cannot say when it’s going to be but probably not in the near future.”

Keep up to date with the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

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GOVERNOR SUNUNU ANNOUNCES MORE OPENINGS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

Governor Sununu starts the briefing: “We hope everyone had a great weekend.  The sun was out and clearly late spring, summer is in the air and people are excited to see what we can do to get back to normalcy.”

Efforts are underway to reopen the state safely.  The governor announced today that the state will allow opening up outdoor activities that occur outdoors or in natural settings for groups of no more than 10 with safety restrictions in place.  These categories include, centers for biking, canoe and kayak rentals, mini-golf, outdoor driving ranges, outdoor shooting ranges, small fishing charters and paintball.  Bigger tourist attractions will remain closed under the guidance but will remain in consideration for future reopening phases.

Governor Sununu has also released a general guidance document for childcare centers to protect the staff, and children.  Some of these guidelines include providers and other staff using face coverings as well as all adults dropping off children.  The document includes guidelines for handwashing for both adults and children.  Staff and children will be screened daily for symptoms of, or exposure to COVID-19.  It also talks about guidelines for social distancing and encourages more outdoor time.

Equestrian centers will also be allowed to open and a guidance document has been complied for that category as well.

A guidance document for outdoor dining has been provided as well during this new release of information.

“We’re all pushing ourselves and challenging ourselves to see what can be done in a smart and step-wise manner. And specifically some of the areas we’ve been focusing on relate to personal care and so, we are hoping to get some additional guidance out later in the week and a lot of businesses can start to plan and re-staff up and open in a short period.” says Governor Sununu.

For more information and a complete list of guidance documents released today, please visit nh.gov.

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The Jericho ATV Festival is Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Concern

This year’s Jericho ATV Festival, which was set to take place July 31st – August 1st is cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. Read the full statement below;

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, and after consultation with various stakeholders, it is with great regret that we write to inform you that the Jericho ATV Festival Committee has made the decision to cancel the 2020 festival.  The timing of the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak has contributed to significant challenges in planning the Festival as many vendors and manufacturers are dealing with the same uncertainty, with a number of vendors having already cancelled, with more anticipated to follow suit. 

In addition to creating challenges in the planning of the festival, the potential for fewer vendors and manufacturers would greatly diminish the festival experience for festival attendees, volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and manufacturers.  In addition to these risks, the risk of a failed Jericho ATV Festival in 2020 would jeopardize the Committee’s ability to host future festivals. 

With all these factors in mind, the Committee made the decision to cancel the 2020 Festival.  We thank you in advance for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Jericho ATV Festival on July 30th & 31st! 

For more information please visit ANDROSCOGGINVALLEYCHAMBER.COM

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CONWAY’S DELAYED ELECTION HELD WITH GREAT TURNOUT

The Conway election was held yesterday and the turnout was better than ever despite the delay caused by COVID-19.  A normal election held in April attracts from 1,200 to 1,500 voters and this year there was a total of 1,457 ballots cast.  In general most of the capital improvements were turned down which will help Conway financially.  Mary Seavey and David Weathers will return to the board of selectmen.  Rodney King is police commissioner and new to the planning board are Earle Sires IV and Ailie Byers.  Elected to the budget committee are the familiar faces of David Jensen and James LeFebvre.  Erik Corbett and Peter Donohoe also won their seats.  Jess Whitelaw, Michelle Capozzoli and Joe Mosca return to the school board unopposed.

For more information on election results please visit: conwaynh.org