WMWV – 93.5

A New York hiker suffered a head injury while hiking in the Dry River Wilderness this past Saturday. New Hampshire Fish and Game say 58-year-old Denise Blank was hiking the Dry River Trail when she slipped down an embankment and injured her head around 10:30am. Lacking cell reception, a member of her group hiked three and a half miles to make a call for help. Conservation Officers, Bartlett Fire Department, SOLO Wilderness Medicine, Lakes Region Search and Rescue, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue and the US Forest Service all responded to the call. Denise was placed in a litter and carried back to the trailhead shortly before 7:00 in the evening. She was taken to Memorial Hospital by the Bartlett Jackson Ambulance. Authorities say Denise and her group were well prepared for the conditions.

Former Army Captain and valley resident Ray Gilmore spoke on veteran suicide at VA New England’s recent conference to share resources. He previously sat down and had a conversation with Mt. Washington Radio News Director Tony Zore. He told WMWV, “My best friend and roommate committed suicide. You know- Sapper qualified, ranger qualified, combat adviser- just like me. Five kids- six kids! He was an over achiever. Thanksgiving weekend, midnight, find out through Facebook that Doug offed himself. It was a shock. He was not the guy, it never is but when 20 to 22 soldiers a day are committing suicide there’s no such thing as ‘not that guy,’ that guy is everywhere. It can be anybody.” Keita Franklin, Executive Director Suicide Prevention, VHA Office of Mental Health noted at the conference that both male and female veterans have a higher rate of suicide than those who didn’t serve. The Department of Veterans Affairs says their top priority is to eliminate suicide among veterans. Department officials say, “If you are a Veteran, service member, National Guard or Reserve member there is support no matter what you are experiencing.  If you are a loved one, family or a friend there is help and guidance for you.  Call the Veterans Crisis Line for free confidential support at 800-273-8255 Press 1; or find support online.

US Senator from New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen is touting an increase in Federal funds to New Hampshire her office says she helped secure. New Hampshire and other hard-hit states by the opioid epidemic have received an increase in Federal funding to help combat the trend. Last year New Hampshire received $22.9 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help treat those afflicted with opioid addiction. That’s a significant boost from the $3.1 million New Hampshire had received in 2017. Shaheen’s office touted the increase in funding to the State saying, “We cannot grow numb to this tragedy and need to keep finding ways to save lives and deliver treatment before it’s too late.” Last month the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New Hampshire put out the official state tally for drug deaths in 2018. Opioids were responsible for the vast majority of deaths with roughly 420 deaths due to opioids compared to the annual total of roughly 470 deaths. That total represents a very minor drop but it’s the first drop since the start of the spike in deaths by opioids that began in 2013.

A new non-profit is looking to harness the power of the free market for the environment. One Percent for the Valley is a non-profit organization by valley-local Jasmine Schmidt. It’s modeled after an international organization. Schmidt says, “Right now we’ve drafted out a loose budget for what we’re going to do with our funds after we raise them and it’s going to entirely depend on how businesses want to join our organization.” The idea is for various businesses to sign up for 1% of their proceeds going to the non-profit that will then use those funds to develop more environmentally friendly alternative methods of conducting their business. She also says, “If it weren’t for the beauty of our natural environment, we wouldn’t have an economy at all. I think businesses should be the ones making those steps because they’re the ones with the most skin the game when it comes to the environment. They’re the ones that are profiting off of it and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I think businesses and the environment can coexist in a positive way.” Bryce Harrison, co-Founder of Cheese Louise and member of One Percent for the Valley, says that one discussed idea would be to install a water-bottle filling station at Schouler Park in Conway in order to encourage more people to reuse water bottles and reduce plastic waste.