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Forest Service Officials Plan Prescribed Burns For White Mountain National Forest

 

CAMPTON, NH – The White Mountain National Forest is planning to conduct prescribed burns in the coming weeks. Officials with the White Mountain National Forest said that the conditions from mid-April until the end of May are expected to be favorable for prescribed burns.

Prescribed burns are planned in multiple towns in the Mount Washington Valley including Albany, Bartlett, Milan, Berlin, Gorham, and Chatham.

Officials said they also plan to do controlled burns in Benton, Stark, Randolph, Carroll, and in Gilead, Albany and Batchelder’s Grant in Maine.

The goal of the burns are to improve habitat for wildlife; reducing hazardous fuels that can contribute to spread of wildfires; and restoring fire dependent ecosystems.

Significant preparations are made prior to conducting prescribed fires.

Burn units are surrounded by existing roads and trails to allow for more efficient operations, or control features may be constructed. Trained fire personnel remain on scene throughout the burn.

The White Mountain National Forest follows strict guidelines for conducting prescribed burns and environmental factors including temperature, humidity, atmosphere stability, wind-direction and speed as well as smoke disbursement are all taken in to consideration prior to each burn. If any of these conditions are not favorable, the prescribed burns will be postponed.

 

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Rochester Standoff Ends Peacefully

ROCHESTER, NH – A man has been arrested in Rochester a stand off with police that lasted hours. Rochester police said that at around midnight 30-year-old Ryan Cortina, of Rochester, was arrested after authorities performed a forcible entry into a trailer he had refused to leave since 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

WMUR-TV reported yesterday that Police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the Amazon Park Campground. The Stratford County SWAT Team was called in after Cortina refused to leave the trailer.

A woman who was with Cortina was brought to safety as police evacuated the trail park and closed several roads in the area. The woman was reportedly uninjured.

Cortina was taken to Maine Medical Center for treatment of unknown injuries, that Police said were not related to the forcible entry. He will be facing multiple assault charges with other charges possible.

Police have called in a bomb squad to investigate the trailer today because they are concerned it may be booby trapped with explosives.

Once Police made sure the area around the trailer was safe residents of the park were allowed back into their homes. 

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NH House Kills Bill That Would Protect Drivers Sleeping It Off In Cars

 

CONCORD, NH (AP) – The New Hampshire House has killed a bill that would have allowed intoxicated people to sleep it off in their cars without being charged with drunken driving.

The bill, which had passed the Senate last month, was voted down in the House on Thursday. It would have specified that sleeping or resting in a parked car would not be considered driving or attempting to drive under the driving while intoxicated laws.

Supporters argued that sobering up in a car shouldn’t be considered an attempt to drive, but rather an attempt not to kill someone.

Opponents argued the bill would have unintended consequences because it would also exempt behavior outside of a car. They said that could allow drunken drivers to avoid charges after crashes if they exit their vehicles.

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New England Leaders Remember Former First Lady Barbara Bush

HOUSTON,TX – New England Leaders are remembering former first lady Barbara Bush for her promotion of literacy, compassion, and sense of humor.

Bush was the wife of former President George H.W. Bush and the mother of former President George W. Bush.

She passed away yesterday (Tuesday) at her Houston home at age 92.

She died just a day after the family announced that she would not seek further treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and congestive heart failure.

As first lady, she created the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Maine Medical Center named its children’s hospital in her honor.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins praise Bush for her charitable spirit.

Governor Chris Sununu, whose father was a part of H.W. Bush’s staff while he was a teenager, said “Having known Mrs. Bush for the better part of 30 years, no one personified the idea that we must strive to leave the world better than we found it more than she did.”

Former Governor and U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan said in a statement “Tom and I join a grieving nation in mourning the loss of former First Lady Barbara Bush. On her many trips to New Hampshire over the years, Granite Staters got to know a strong and remarkable public servant who never hesitated to speak her mind and share with us her humor and wit. Mrs. Bush’s legacy of generosity and devotion to country will live on, and our hearts go out to the entire Bush family during this difficult time.”

Another former Governor and current U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen issued a statement saying “My heart goes out to the entire Bush family during this difficult time,” said Senator Shaheen. “During Barbara Bush’s many trips to New Hampshire, we came to know and respect her principles and character. Both as First Lady and as a private citizen, Barbara Bush devoted her time and energy to improving the lives of others through numerous charities, and leaves behind a legacy through her tireless work promoting literacy. I offer my most sincere condolences to the Bush family and friends, and the American people, as we all mourn her loss.”

Governor Chris Sununu today announced that in accordance with the President’s proclamation honoring former First Lady Barbara Bush, all U.S. and state flags in the State of New Hampshire should be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of interment.

 

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Taxpayers Get Extra Day To File After Website Snafu

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) – Americans are getting an extra day to file their taxes after key elements of the IRS website crashed on deadline day.

The IRS said that individuals or businesses with a filing or payment due Tuesday now have until midnight Wednesday to complete the task.

Earlier Tuesday, Americans who had waited until the final day to file online got an unwelcome surprise: The agency’s website for making payments and gaining access to other key services was down due to what Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later described as a “high-volume technical issue.”

The website was back online late Tuesday.

“This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter said in a statement. “The IRS appreciates everyone’s patience during this period. The extra time will help taxpayers affected by this situation.”

No additional paperwork is needed to get the one-day extension, the IRS said.

The IRS snafu also caused problems for popular third-party tax preparers such as Turbo Tax and H&R Block. Both said that they would hold on to customer tax returns and file after IRS system reopened.

The agency did not say how many people were affected by the outage. But last year, about 5 million tax returns were filed on the final day of the traditional tax season. Electronic filing is the most popular way to file in the US.

The IRS said that at this point, the problem appears to be a hardware issue. It provided no further details on the cause or severity of the problem.

Tax day fell on April 17 this year because April 15 was a Sunday and April 16 was Emancipation Day, a holiday in Washington, D.C.

Former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen warned last year of a possible system failure, due in part to underfunding of the agency. Among the areas that he said were underfunded were the agency’s aging information systems.

Frustrated taxpayers and baffled observers took to social media to complain. Political leaders weighed in publicly as well.

Democrats quickly blamed federal budget cuts to the IRS as part of the problem, and pushed to protect taxpayers from penalties.

“We know for certain the IRS’s lack of funding is compounding these kinds of problems,” said Sen. Ron Wyden Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. “We don’t want taxpayers and middle-class folks and small businesses penalized. They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Republicans have targeted the agency for budget cuts since taking control of the House in 2011, relenting a bit this year to help the IRS implement last year’s overhaul of the tax code.

The IRS typically recommends that taxpayers use electronic filing to avoid common mistakes. Online filing is quicker than dropping something in the mail — when the site works, of course.

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Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

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Drummond Wins 4th Inferno In A Row

SARGENT’S PURCHASE, NH – Though the weather was cold and icy this weekend there was an inferno burning on Tuckerman Ravine. Over 200 athletes competed in the 18th Annual Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon Saturday for a chance to become the next Tuckerman or Tuckerwoman champion.

The Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon, based on the original American Inferno ski races of the 1930’s, now consists of an 8.3-mile run, a 6-mile kayak race down the Saco River, an 18-mile bike race north through Pinkham Notch, and a 3-mile run/hike up the Tuckerman Trail to Mount Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine.

The final leg is a climb up the ravine wall and a ski down a designated giant slalom alpine ski route.

This years Tuckerman Champions were no strangers to the winners circle in the inferno.

Andrew Drummond took his 4th win in a row with a time of 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 30.4 seconds. Drummond has won the Elite Male Division every year since 2015.

Jessica Marion won the women’s division for the third time with a time of 4 hours, 10 minutes, and 33.7 seconds.

She the Women’s Elite Division in 2015 and 2016.

When it comes to teams The Tuckerettes 2017 won Sports Women’s Team, All Stoved Up And Tucked Out won Sports Men’s Team.

The Pentathlon is put on by the Friends of Tuckerman Ravine a locally-based, member-supported, non-profit organization that seeks to preserve and protect the unique alpine and subalpine eastern slopes of Mount Washington.

For race results go to friendsoftuckermanravine.org.