Local and regional news

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Saturday Is National Drug Take Back Day

CONWAY, NH – This Saturday is national prescription drug take back day. Police stations all across the U.S. will be collecting unused or outdated prescription and over the counter drugs, with no questions asked.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

The United States Drug Enforcement administration said “Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That’s dangerous and often tragic. That’s why it was great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in safely and anonymously – a record amount of prescription drugs.”

 

Those looking for a location near them to dispose of drugs can find one by clicking here.

 

 

Not sure what is being collected or how to properly dispose of unused or unwanted medications?

 

 

Click here to check out this handy guide from the DEA.

 

 

During the last Drug Take Back day in April 2018 New Hampshire had 120 law enforcement officials participated at 122 different locations and collected a whopping 14,895 lbs (7.4 Tons) of drugs in one day! Since the start of national Drug Take Back Day New Hampshire has collected a total of 113,508 lbs (56.75 Tons) of drugs since the fall of 2010.

Nationally 4,683 law enforcement officials participated at 5,842 different locations and together collected 949,046 lbs. (474.5 Tons) of drugs across the United States.

 

More information on Drug Take Back day and how you can help to keep prescription drugs out of the wrong hands go to takebackday.dea.gov

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Wildcat Mountain Opening The Earliest In Their 61-Year History

Photo of the chair lifts on Wildcat Mountain on Wednesday (10/24/18). Photo Courtesy of Wildcat Mountain

Pinkham Notch, NH – October 24, 2018 – Wildcat Mountain, recently named the home to the Best Scenery in the East by Ski Magazine, is pleased to announce that it will open for top-to-bottom skiing and riding at 9:00 a.m. this Saturday, October 27, 2018, marking the earliest opening in Wildcat’s 61-year history of lift-serviced operations.

“We always circle October 15th on the calendar as our official start date for snowmaking, but it’s up to Mother Nature to come through with the right temperatures. This year, she delivered and our team hit the mountain hard with snowmaking on Friday, October 19th, and just one week later, we are ready to ski Lynx.” said Brian Heon, general manager and vice president of Wildcat Mountain. “Not to mention the foot of fresh snow we received on Wednesday, that was really the icing on the cake!”

Photo of Wildcat Mountain on Wednesday (10/24/18). Photo Courtesy of Wildcat Mountain

On Saturday, October 27, Wildcat Mountain will open with the most vertical skiing and riding in The East, with 2100 feet of summit-to-base skiing off the Wildcat Express for advanced skiers on the Lynx network of trails. Please note that there will be no beginner terrain available.

“We are extremely excited to open two of New England’s legendary resorts so early,” stated Jesse Boyd, Senior VP of Operations for Peak Resorts. “Both Wildcat and Mount Snow have strong, dedicated snowmaking teams which make these early openings possible.”

Wildcat will begin operating weekends only, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. with the Wildcat Express spinning, while inside, guests will find the cafeteria, retail shop, and the Wildcat Pub open for business. The mountain looks forward to welcoming guests seven days a week in the future at a date to be announced.

Wildcat guest services will be open 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily leading up to opening for passholders looking to pick up their passes early and avoid the rush on Saturday.

Lift tickets will be available at ticket window for $55 for all ages, starting 30 minutes before lifts spin. Guests are encouraged to purchase lift tickets in advance and always find the best deals by visiting store.skiwildcat.com.

More information at skiwildcat.com/snow-report.

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Alleged Pipe Bombs sent to Clinton, Obama, and CNN

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City’s police commissioner says a package sent to CNN’s offices in New York contained what appeared to be a live explosive and an envelope containing white powder.

At a briefing near Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, Commissioner James O’Neill pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The police department’s top counterterrorism official, John Miller, said the substance was being tested to see if it is dangerous.

Two law enforcement officials, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the pipe bomb at CNN was crude but operational and was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who regularly appears as a television contributor and who has publicly clashed with Trump. They said it was similar to other explosives discovered in the past few days.

The official said one of the packages had the return address of Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, an ironic reference to the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee who was accused by Clinton rivals of secretly helping the party’s eventual president nominee.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the briefing that “we will not allow these terrorist thugs to change the way we live our lives.”

Investigators said the device appeared to be similar to explosives sent to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and billionaire George Soros.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the package discovered at Soros’ home appeared to be a pipe bomb and was in a package placed in a mailbox outside the gates of the compound. A Soros employee opened it just inside the gates, not near Soros’ quarters, the official said.

Neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures, the Secret Service said in a statement.

Hillary Clinton says at a Florida fundraiser that “we are fine” and is thanking the U.S. Secret Service for intercepting an explosive device in a package “long before it made its way to our home.”

Clinton was speaking at a Coral Gables fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Donna Shalala, a former health and human services secretary.

The former secretary of state says her family is grateful for the Secret Service’s “service and commitment and obviously never more than today.”

The Secret Service says the package addressed to the Clinton’s suburban New York home was identified as a potential explosive device during routine mail screening procedures. The Clintons didn’t receive the package and were not at risk of receiving it.

The White House quickly condemned the attacks. Vice President Mike Pence said they “have no place in this country,” and President Donald Trump tweeted, “I agree wholeheartedly.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Overhead TV shots showed a truck carrying that device, which law enforcement officials said was linked to other explosives this week, being driven away.

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Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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Suspicious Death In Wolfeboro Ruled A Homicide

 

WOLFEBORO, NH – Monday night the Attorney General’s Office in conjunction with State and Wolfeboro Police announced additional information concerning an incident that occurred at 10 Lakeview Drive.

Authorities said that shortly before 9:00 p.m. Sunday, police officers responded to a 911 call from the single-family home. Upon arrival, officers discovered 36-year-old Kris Dube and his girlfriend 36-year-old Kathleen Moran who were suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

Mr. Dube was pronounced dead at the scene. Ms. Moran was taken to a hospital where she remains in critical condition.

There were other residents of the home present during the incident, none of whom were physically harmed.

Dr. Christine James of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Mr. Dube yesterday and determined that his cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his death is homicide.

No other details have been released, including whether or not authorities have a suspect.

The incident is being actively investigated. Anyone with information about the incident or Kris Dube and Kathleen Moran’s activities this past weekend is asked to call the NH State Police Major Crime Unit at 223-4381.

 

 

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Wildcat Mountain Resort Starts Snow Making For The Season!

Snow guns on Wildcat Mountain blowing snow as the mountain prepares for the season. ~ Photo courtesy of Wildcat Resort’s Facebook page.

GORHAM, NH – As snow fell in the valley getting residents in to mood for winter Wildcat Mountain was creating some of their own. Jack Fagone Director of Marketing for Attitash Mountain Resort and Wildcat Mountain said that the resort fired up their snow guns Wednesday night.

Jack said crews charged the system and were making snow at 6pm with a focus on Upper and Middle Lynx. He added that they picked up about 2 inches of natural snow and will be making snow as long as temperatures allow.

Wildcat doesn’t have a set opening date just yet, but they are often the first ski resorts in the state to open for the season. For the most up to date information about what you can expect at Wildcat this season log onto Skiwildcat.com.

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4 Vehicle Accident In Franconia Notch Caused By Snow

TWIN MOUNTAIN, NH – An multi-vehicle accident in Franconia Notch proves that no good deed goes unpunished. State Police Troop F reported that at around 2:15pm Wednesday 42-year- old Paul Haynes of Montpelier, VT, had lost control of his 2015 Ford Transit Van as he was heading northbound on Interstate 93 near exit 35. Police said that Haynes had failed to negotiate a curve on a roadway that was covered with a film of slush after some light snow. The van drove off the right side of the roadway, went several hundred feet striking multiple rocks, ending up in the embankment. Authorities said that Haynes was not injured as a result of this accident.

Just after Haynes crashed 54-year-old Tammy Simoneau of Newport, VT, stopped her 2016 Mercedes Sprinter van to help.

Moments later 34-year-old Eric Brant of Chelsea, MA ended up losing control of his 2009 Nissan Murano while heading northbound and sideswiped Simoneau’s van, which was parked in the breakdown lane. As a result the Nissan continued into the median and onto the southbound lane.

Within seconds of that collision, 44-year-old Olagoke Owojori of Portland, OR lost control of his 2018 Ford F150 slamming into the rear of Simoneau’s van, that was still parked in the breakdown lane.

Five people were transported to the Littleton Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment of some minor to moderate injuries.

Police said that the roadway was closed for 2 hours to allow emergency personnel to remove the injured and tow all 4 vehicles from the scene. Vehicles were diverted off exit 35 and re-routed back at exit 36 causing minimal effects on traffic flow.

State Police were assisted by the Franconia Police Department, Sugar Hill Police Department, NH DOT, Franconia Fire and EMS. B&B and Arnolds Towing services assisted with vehicle removal.

The State Police wanted to remind drivers that as the state transitions from Autumn to Winter weather, the roads appearing to be wet can potentially be covered with ice or slush.

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Winds Wreak Havoc In Mount Washington Valley

A tree takes down transmission lines on West Side Road in Conway early Tuesday morning. Photo Courtesy of Conway Police.

NORTH CONWAY, NH – High winds wreaked havoc in the Mount Washington Valley over the past few days. High winds Monday night and throughout Tuesday resulted Delays, Cancellations, Power outages and multiple road closures all over Maine and New Hampshire.

The Saco Valley Fire Association said authorities closed down multiple roads in Fryeburg and Stowe after winds took down trees and power lines. Union Hill road, South Chatham Road, and parts of Route 113 in Stowe were closed down for most of the day yesterday as crews worked to repair lines and remove debris.

A large tree came down across a transmission line between Bridgton and Denmark. Photo Courtesy of Central Maine Power

Central Maine Power Officials said a large tree took out transmission lines between Bridgton and Denmark causing a large swath of outages.

Conway Police Lt. Christopher Mattei said that Police closed West Side Rd in the area of Hussey Road due to a large tree that came down with wires at around 4am. The road was reopened by 7 am after Eversource made a temporary fix, they are expected to make a permanent fix Wednesday.

Lt. Mattie also said there were lines down on Washington Street at around 3pm yesterday as well causing authorities to close the southbound lane temporarily.

The Conway Daily Sun reported that Sun a large tree fell onto a home on Seavey street.

MSAD 72 had a 2 hour delay for all schools except for the New Sun Cook School which had to cancel school due to debris filled roads.

Eversource, New Hampshire Electric Co-Op, and CMP Officials said that thousands of Valley customers were powerless for hours throughout the day. Power has been restored.