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Chocorua Fire Closes Route 16
Firefighters worked to combat a fire at 11 Runnells Hall Road in the early afternoon today. Route 16 had to be temporarily shutdown so that firehoses could be run across the road. The building appears to be the former location of Mari’s Treasures in Chocorua. American Red Cross New Hampshire and Vermont reported having trained volunteers on scene to assist and promised to provide food, shelter, clothing, mental health counseling and referral services as needed.
Picture Contribution from local resident and Innkeeper of The Farmstand: Kimball Packard.
Daylight Savings Time
Daylight savings time begins this Sunday bringing back the recurring discussion: Why do we even do this? The concept of daylight savings can be observed going back into ancient times in various forms to address the fact that with the shifting seasons comes different lengths of daylight. Livescience reports that modern daylight savings was first suggested by Benjamin Franklin to merge the changing daylight hours with mechanical clocks that always kept the same schedule. Today’s daylight savings time goes back to the Uniform Time Act of 1966 but as everyone’s sleep becomes disrupted twice a year in a time when electric lighting is available at any hour, people debate the necessity.
Executive Order on Veteran Suicide
Yesterday President Trump signed an Executive Order called the ‘National Initiative to Empower Veterans and End Veteran Suicide.’ It creates a task force to identify ways the government can help cut down on the number of veterans committing suicide every day. The transition from being in the service to being a civilian can be a daunting one. Veterans often go into the military at a critical time for job training, spend years acquiring skills that are hard to translate to civilian life, and sometimes even experience traumatic events that will stay will them for the rest of their lives. A veteran commits suicide once every 65 minutes. That’s an average of 22 veterans a day and it’s a statistic a lot of people want to put a stop to. Valley resident and former Army Captain Ray Gilmore recently spoke on his personal experience. Gilmore says his best friend and roommate committed suicide in 2013. “You know, sapper qualified ranger, qualified combat advisor just like me. Did his stuff, five kids- six kids. Six kids, he was an overachiever. It was just, it was a shock. When 22 soldiers a day are committing suicide, there’s no such thing as ‘not that guy,’ that guy is everywhere.” If you’re a veteran contemplating suicide, you are not alone. You can find help by calling 800-273-8255 ext. 1, or by going to mentalhealth.va.gov
Prevent Government Shutdowns Act
US Senator from New Hampshire Maggie Hassan has sponsored a bill to end government shutdowns. Hassan, and Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, have introduced a bill called the, “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act,” which does one thing: requires all appropriations bills to be completed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President by October 1st. After that date, the bill cuts off all travel allowances and reimbursements for all legislators, their staff, the President, and his cabinet, except for one trip- which has to be to Washington DC. The bill would also prohibit any recess of the Legislature for more than 23 hours and would prohibit votes on any bills not pertaining to appropriations unless a two-thirds majority is found to vote on another item during that punishment. Commenting on the bill in a press release Senator Hassan said, “It is the height of irresponsibility that government shutdowns are becoming a frequent occurrence, and we need to come together across party lines to end this madness.”
How to Pay for Family Medical Leave?
As the State of New Hampshire considers passing reforms for Family Medical Leave, two overall plans have emerged between Governor Chris Sununu and the State Legislature and the primary point of contention is funding. Governor Chris Sununu has teamed up with Vermont Governor Phil Scott to propose a voluntary paid Family Medical Leave plan, utilizing contributors from both New Hampshire and Vermont to grow the pool of insurance revenue to reduce the cost of insurance. New Hampshire’s Legislature is lining up behind a different proposal that may prove more controversial for the Live Free or Die state. In debates before House Bill 712 was passed in that chamber, Representative Jack Flanagan of Brookline said, “The funding mechanism is an income tax. I mean, some people will like to say it’s a payroll deduction, but it is truly an income tax and currently it’s at one-half of a one percent. Paid by the employee unless the employer is willing to pay on their behalf.” North Conway Representative Harrison Kanzler rose in defense of the bill before the house and said he disagrees. Representative Kanzler explained that an income tax bill would apply to the total income of an individual, whereas this bill would only institute a ‘premium,’ against an individual’s wages and not the total income. The bill passed the house yesterday but with just under 200 votes for the measure, it falls well below the three-fourths it will need to override the Governor’s likely veto.
MWO Experiences Highest Winds for the Month of February
Heavy winds batter New England and Mt. Washington may be bearing the brunt of it. Tom Padham, Weather Observer and Meteorologist at the Mt. Washington Observatory says they had a gust of wind as fast as 171 mph, which is a record for the month of February. Powerful winds are striking elsewhere throughout New England as well with average gusts around 53-55 mph in New Hampshire and Maine. Central Maine Power reported that 6,000 customers were in the dark. In New Hampshire, Eversource had about 7,600 customers without power, and WCYY in Maine reports a communications tower was broken in half atop Sugarloaf Mountain.
Bartlett Police Fire Back (at article)
Bartlett has been accused of being the most boring town in the State of New Hampshire and the Bartlett Police Department takes umbrage with the allegations. It all started when MSN.com showcased a report on the, ‘most boring town,’ in every State. The report was based off US Census data measuring the age of the population, density of population, and the number of things officially listed to do in a town. Bartlett came out on top, or bottom, for the State of New Hampshire depending on how you rank it. That’s when the Bartlett Police Department raised their objections. The official Facebook page of the Bartlett Police Department accused the article of being, ‘fake news,’ saying that they would tag every business and attraction in the town but that they couldn’t because Facebook has a 50 tag limit. The comments below the post listed suggested alternatives for most boring town. The ‘most-boring town’ listed for Maine was Dover-Foxcroft.’
Winter Windstorms Across New England
Winds are picking up across New England and outages are being reported, primarily in the southern parts of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Power company Eversource is advising people to be prepared for inclement weather by building a standard emergency storm kit. They recommend water, non-perishable food, first aid supplies, any necessary prescriptions, flashlights, batteries and a battery powered radio as a basic standard kit. Charging up your wireless devices ensures you’ll have them for as long as possible if the power goes out. It’s also important to stay alert during a storm situation. Whether you’re on the road or inside your house, falling branches can be a danger.
Sitting on the summit of Mt. Washington, the Observatory is exposed to the region-wide wind currents. Since 2:00 today (2/25/19) they have reported average winds of over 100 mph. Weather Observer and Meteorologist Tom Padham says winds like this come along every five years or so. Padham also says that those stationed at the Observatory currently are taking extra precautions. Observers are trying not to stray too far from the building when they go outside and, when observers go to the top of the tower, they wear helmets with the knowledge that chunks of ice could come at them with those 100+ mph winds.
Drive Time Interview: No More Deaths
Tony Zore sits down with Finn Mahoney to discuss a fundraising dinner this coming Monday (2/25) at the Preserve in Chocorua from 5:30-7:30pm. The event will benefit No More Deaths and Bike & Build.
Click Here if audio fails.
For more information call (603) 707-1356.
This Drive Time Interview was made possible by
Drive Time Interviews are a specialty program on week days at 5pm where local not for profit organizations get a chance to talk about an upcoming event on air.
If you would like to schedule a drive time interview Click Here. Or give our office a call at 603-356-8870.
Animal Treatment Reform in New Hampshire
After a string of animal cruelty incidents over the last two years such as the Great Danes in Wolfeboro, the Labrador Retrievers in Marlborough, the Shepherds in Alexandria & Bristol, or the Cocker Spaniels in Dover, the Humane Society is hoping for some reform from New Hampshire. Lindsay Hamrick, the Humane Society’s New Hampshire Senior State Director, says the society fully backs SB161. The bill would clarify the definition of a pet vendor as an animal shelter, rescue, pet store, or breeder which transfers more than 20 live animals or birds used customarily as pets per year. Hamrick says clarifying that definition alone would go a long way in giving authorities the ability to oversee and react to situations immediately rather than having to wait until conditions for the animals have deteriorated into abuse.
Also being debated is HB688, a bill with more extensive changes. Hamrick says that the Humane Society hasn’t endorsed that measure but is interested in the debate surrounding it. She says that while the Humane Society doesn’t support HB688 at this time, they do like that it reinserts a law that was accidentally repealed that requires any animal transferred in New Hampshire to receive a health certificate signed by a NH Veterinarian that would verify that the animal is free from disease. She also says the Human Society is interested in a health certificate database that would be created by HB688 under the Department of Agriculture so they can better track the transfer of animals and ensure appropriate licensing is enforced.
Critics of HB688 point to the bill’s definition of a, ‘Hobby Breeder,’ which would involve people who transfer between 1 and 30 animal(s) per year. This provision would require almost anyone who transfers an animal to be registered under the Department of Agriculture. Hamrick says that the wide ranging impact of that provision has raised a lot of opposition. Click Here to find your legislative officials if you wish to contact them about these bills.