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If you need assistance with the public file, please contact Lucia Seavey at 603-356-8870 or office@wmwv.com.

If you need assistance please contact Lucia Seavey at 603-356-8870 or e-mail office@wmwv.com.

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Nor’easter Causes Chaos In Mount Washington Valley

An ambulance travels down Eastman Road in Conway during the October 27th nor’easter. ~ Photo courtesy of Christian Mower

 
CONWAY,NH – The first nor’easter of the season caught many valley residents off guard leading to dozens of calls for help. The nor’easter, which was the remnants of what used to be Hurricane Willa, dumped snow on the Mount Washington valley in a matter of hours. Lt. Mattei from the Conway Police Department said that they had a 67 calls for service from noon to 5:00 pm with the majority of them being storm related.

Lt. Mattie said they had 11 accidents called in with many vehicles sliding off roadways, luckily no major injuries were reported. Conway Police said that they had 4 officers on going from call to call but many people who had slid off the roads were able to get out prior to an officer arriving on scene.

According to the police log there were so many calls for vehicles off the road that at one point in time the logs note that the tow trucks were all tied up and leaving one individual stuck for almost an hour.

Police were called to multiple reports of trees on power lines including lines down on West Side Road, East Conway Road and Route 16 in Conway near Conway Market Place. Power was out in many areas around Conway, as well as in Bartlett, Intervale, and Fryeburg during the storm.

Lt. Mattie expressed his gratitude to everyone who helped during the storm saying “I want to thank our officers who were responding to the calls in less than desirable driving conditions. I would like to give a big thank you to our two dispatchers, Dispatcher McGinley and Dispatcher Gillis, who answered all of these calls with great professionalism and patience. Finally, I would like to thank the citizens and friends of Conway who displayed great patience during the storm helped one another through our first major winter weather event. Practice makes perfect and I’m sure we will see a few more of these days in the near future.”

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Fallen Fryeburg Officer Honored By Bridge Dedication

Fryeburg Police Officers and Chief Potvin stand by the sign memorializing Officer Nathan Desjardins. ~ Photo courtesy of Fryeburg Police Facebook page.

FRYEBURG, ME – A Fryeburg Officer killed in the line of duty was honored yesterday in a bridge dedication ceremony. At 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon in front of a crowd of around 50 people the Canal Bridge in Fryeburg was renamed the Nathan Desjardins Memorial Bridge.

Officer Desjardins was killed in 2017 when he was thrown from a boat while searching for a woman who went missing on the Saco River.

Officer Nathan Desjardins lost his life while searching for a woman who went missing on the Saco River in 2017 ~ Photo courtesy of Fryeburg Police.

Desjardins was only 20-year-old, making him the youngest person to ever join the Fryeburg Police force.

Desjardin’s mother threw a memorial wreath of off the bridge during the dedication ceremony. ~ Courtesy Photo.

During the ceremony Desjardins mother threw a wreath off of the bridge into the Saco to memorialize her son. In attendance was State Representative Nathan Wadsworth, Sen. James Hamper several town officials as well as the Fryeburg Police.

Fryeburg Police Chief Joshua Potvin speaks during the bridge dedication ceremony. ~ Photo courtesy of Fryeburg Police Facebook page.

The idea to rename the state-owned Canal Bridge on Route 5 in Fryeburg was spearheaded by Police Chief Joshua Potvin and state Rep. Wadsworth, who sponsored legislation with state Sen. James Hamper.

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Florida Hiker Rescued On Mt. Madison After Emergency Beacon Activation

Andrew Carlson had huddled under Madison Spring Hut to protect himself from the elements while he waited for rescuers. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Bowman of AVSAR.

LOW & BURBANK’S GRANT , NH – A hiker was rescued near Mount Madison after activating his emergency beacon.

Fish and Game officials said that at 9am yesterday the International Emergency Response Coordination Center alerted them to an emergency beacon activation by the near the northern section of the Presidential Range. There was little to no information provided other than that it belonged to Andrew Carlson of Madeira Beach, Florida.

Carlson had reportedly departed from Pinkham Notch the previous morning in an attempt to hike south along the Appalachian Trail. He was attempting to complete a large section of the presidential range before the weather got too bad. Attempts to contact Carlson on his cell phone were unsuccessful, so a rescue effort was initiated.

Rescuers traversed waste deep snow in mid-winter conditions on the presidential range in order to rescued. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Bowman of AVSAR.

Rescuers from the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue and members of the Fish and Game Advanced Search and Rescue Team responded facing brutal mid-winter conditions with a steady wind speeds of around 40mph and a wind chill of negative 1 degrees.

Rescuers trudged through up to 3 feet of snow on upper elevation trails for several hours finally locating Carlson at the Madison Spring Hut at 1:40 Wednesday afternoon. He was cold but alive and huddled underneath the building to protect himself from the elements.

Despite the challenging conditions Carlson was able to hike out under his own power with rescuers arriving safely at the trailhead at 4:30 p.m.