WMWV – 93.5

BERLIN, NH – Multiple Snowmobile Accidents in the North Country kept New Hampshire Fish and Game busy this weekend.

49-year-old James Santo, of Salem NH, was injured on corridor 19 in Berlin Saturday at 1:15pm, when he rolled his snowmobile on to himself while trying to negotiate a left hand turn. A fellow snowmobiler was able to call for help, put Santo on the back of his vehicle, and take him to Route 110 to meet emergency crews. Santo was transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for treatment of his injuries.

Fish and Game is still investigating this crash, but trail conditions are less than ideal with slush, water, and washouts, which appears to have been a factor in this crash.

A few hours later at 3:20 pm Conservation Officers were called to another snowmobile rollover on Aker’s Pond in Errol. Officials said surface conditions created by the heavy rainfall caused 47-year-old Todd Kane of Pembroke, NH to be thrown from his machine into slush and standing water. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Kane was transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook, where he was treated for what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Then on Sunday at around 1:47 pm emergency crews were called to a snowmobile crash on Back Lake in Pittsburg. Authorities said that 33-year-old Kaylee Vance of Milford suffered non-life-threatening injuries after her snowmobile lost traction on the ice causing it to skid and roll over, throwing her from the vehicle.

Vance was stabilized at the scene and due the cold temperatures she was taken into Tall Timber Lodge for further evaluation. Vance was subsequently transported by ambulance to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook for treatment of her injuries.

All injured riders were wearing helmets and authorities say alcohol was not a factor in any of the crashes.

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Operations at Memorial Hospital are being impacted after part of the building flooded overnight. According to Memorial Hospitals Vice President of Community Relations & Development Kathy Bennett, Memorial Hospital’s medical office building experienced flooding overnight impacting its computer data center resulting in interruptions to service across its organization today.

The water damage, caused by a frozen roof drain, backed up water into the Primary Care practice and into the Data Center which is on the lower level of the medical office building. North Conway Fire Department was called and they shut off water to the building as a precaution.

This has resulted in the loss of access to their electronic medical records system throughout the facility and to running water in the medical office building only, where Primary Care, Women’s Health, Diabetes, Pulmonary, Ophthalmology and Optician services are located.

In order to continue services where possible, care locations are being relocated to other practices within the hospital campus not impacted by the water damage. This will be done on a case by case basis as some appointments cannot take place without access to the electronic medical records.   The operating room has cancelled today’s elective surgeries but they will be available for emergency surgeries as needed.

Without use of the electronic medical records system, Memorial will be utilizing what is down as “down time procedures,” a standard operating procedure that is utilized in instances such as this. It allows for continued medical care in the event of an emergency, but it does limit access to patient information such as previous lab or imaging results.

Memorial’s emergency room and walk in care center are open today as usual. Lab and Imaging services are also open. Patients receiving IV treatment including chemotherapy will not be affected. Outpatient Physical Therapy appointments will not be impacted as they are in a separate building and have a separate electronic health records system.

Flood recovery services have been called in to help repair the water damage. MaineHealth has assigned IS professionals from their regional teams to help restore and divert computer services.

Patients should anticipate some delay in processing due to down time procedures and an inability to reschedule appointments until the electronic medical records system is up and running again. Memorial Hospital thanks its community for its patience as it works to swiftly resolve the situation.

For the latest updates about the situation click here.

SARGENT’S PURCHASE, NH – A New Hampshire woman was rescued from Mount Washington this morning.

Fish and Game officials responded to 45-year-old Amy Baker’s emergency locator beacon activation at 5:30 yesterday (Wednesday) evening after she became lost just above tree line.

Authorities said she had texted a friend prior to activating her beacon, saying that she had lost the trail due to high winds and drifting snow. Noting that she was in waist deep snow and moving slowly.

Using the information from the beacon Conservation Officers responded and hiked approximately 1.7 miles up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail then bushwhacked off trail to Baker’s location, arriving at 1:55 am this morning.

Officers were able to assist her, slowly hiking down the trail arriving at the trail head at 4:00 AM.

Authorities said that Baker had a hike safe card, the most essential equipment needed for a winter hike, but had left her snowshoes in her vehicle not planning on going off trail.

CONCORD, NH — Northern New Hampshire residents may see a helicopter overhead in the coming weeks as approximately 45 moose cows and calves are collared for the fourth year of a study of moose mortality and productivity.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has contracted with Native Range, Inc., to collar the moose. Activity will be weather dependent, but could begin as early as January 9, 2018. During this time, residents of Success, Berlin, Milan, Cambridge, Dummer, Millsfield, Second College Grant, Wentworth’s Location, and Errol may notice a low-flying helicopter. Residents with questions can call Fish and Game’s Wildlife Division at (603) 271-2461.

The collaring will take place in Wildlife Management Unit C2, the eastern side of WMUs B and C1, and southern A2.

The capture crew will use net-guns and tranquilizer darts to capture the moose so that they can be collared. Blood and other samples collected during the collaring process will help evaluate the health of the moose. The collared animals will be radio-tracked for four years and monitored for as long as the collars keep transmitting. A graduate student and several field technicians from the University of New Hampshire (UNH), which is partnering with Fish and Game in the study, will track the moose, recording how long the individual moose live, and when a moose dies, getting there as soon as possible to determine the cause of death.

Fish and Game’s moose project leader Kristine Rines indicates that the capture crew will be collaring moose in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as the three states work together to learn how moose density and weather interact to boost tick-caused moose mortality and reduce moose birth rates.

“In comparing mortality and productivity from the New Hampshire study conducted in 2001-2006, versus the work done to date in New Hampshire from 2014-2016, we know that ticks are causing increasingly negative impacts to adult cow productivity,” said Rines. “In addition, as our winters become consistently shorter, more ticks are surviving and calf mortality is remaining high. We are also seeing clear evidence that tick loads are directly correlated with both moose density and shorter winters. We did have a break last year (2017) as the summer-fall drought caused many ticks to die, lessening the impacts to moose.”

The study, funded by federal Wildlife Restoration dollars with the support of matching funds from UNH, may help answer a question on the mind of many Granite State residents and visitors: What’s in store for New Hampshire moose?

“While regional moose populations are indeed facing some serious threats, moose are not on the verge of disappearing from the New Hampshire landscape, but they are declining,” said Rines. “We don’t know what the future holds, but as our winters continue to shorten, it may be best for moose if they are held at much lower densities. Based on our own work, we know that ticks have far less impact when moose densities are 0.25/square mile or less.” Current moose densities in the New Hampshire study area range from 1.14-1.71 moose/square mile.

For more information on the study, visit www.wildnh.com/wildlife/moose-study.html.

Story Contributed by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department