WMWV – 93.5

LACONIA — The owner of the iconic Weirs Drive-In has agreed to sell the 12-acre property for $2.5 million to a businessman who plans condominiums and commercial development.Patricia Baldi, who has owned the outdoor theater since 1974, said the land is more valuable than the business, which is open about 12 weeks a year.

“I’m going to be 79 in one month,” she said Wednesday. “I’ve always worked extremely hard and it’s time to take it easy.
“I had a chance to sell it at a good price and this is the time to sell it.”

Al Mitchell, the buyer, also owns a 1-acre parcel adjacent to the theater and another nine acres on nearby Tower Hill. He said his properties should complement each other and allow for as many as 80 condominium units, an event center, a hotel and other businesses.
“This should start bringing the Weirs up to another level,” he said.

His hope is to create the kind of attractive and successful commercial and tourism community that has taken shape in Meredith, which went through an economic renaissance in the 1980s.

“If I can replicate only a small part of what they did in Meredith, I will be happy,” Mitchell said.

The events center would host entertainment, and receive extensive use for Motorcycle Week activities.

The Weirs Drive-In has been a fixture in the community since it was built in 1948. It was one of the first drive-in movie theaters and is now one of the last few in New Hampshire.

Baldi said there is a certain amount of sadness in selling a property that she bought with her late husband, Lawrence.

“It’s sad, but I can’t go on forever,” she said. “We had a lot of good times. We had wonderful, dedicated customers and that will be the hardest part for me. Hopefully, some good will come of it.”

Mitchell had obtained first right of refusal on purchase of the property, which has been on the market for about a year. When another buyer came forward, Mitchell matched the offer, which included a provision that theater-related equipment is not part of the deal.

Baldi said her son, Larry, will take that equipment and intends to open another drive-in theater elsewhere.

Mayor Ed Engler said Mitchell’s plans for the area present good opportunities for the city.

“I’m excited about the prospect of him owning the property,” Engler said. “He will develop it in a way that is not only appropriate and beneficial to himself but also to the city.”

City Councilor Ava Doyle, who owns a cottage community in the area, said many of her guests were excited that there was a drive-in theater nearby.

“The drive-in has gone the way of many things,” she said. “But it’s exciting that somebody is going to be investing in the Weirs.”

Waterfront, luxury condominiums have been selling well in recent months, including a Christmas Island project where buyers snapped up units in the $600,000 range.

Mitchell said he envisions high-end condominiums and businesses that will make the city proud, including strong architectural elements and attractive features.

“I’m just looking to do a good job up there and basically put something up that a lot of people can enjoy,” he said.

Story courtesy of Rick Green, Laconia Daily Sun…

SARGENT’S PURCHASE — Conservation officers say a hiker from New York was airlifted from the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road after suffering an undisclosed medical emergency Sunday afternoon.

Sgt. Mark Ober of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Region One office in Lancaster said a man identified as Mark Winkler, 60, of Pleasantville, N.Y., had been hiking with a group of companions when he became ill around 1 p.m. Sunday.

According to Ober, the group had hiked in from the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, on the Old Jackson Road, to Lowe’s Bald Spot, located about two-tenths of a mile off of the Auto Road. When the group stopped at Lowe’s Bald Spot, Winkler started exhibiting signs and symptoms of suffering a possible medical emergency, prompting members of his hiking group to call 911 for help.

Gorham Ambulance service responded, sending two medics to the location and providing immediate medical support. Additional rescue efforts were provided by volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR), Fish and Game, and members of Winkler’s own hiking party.

Winkler was stabilized on scene, then placed into a rescue litter and carried out to the Auto Road and into an ambulance. According to Ober, from there Winkler was brought down the mountain, to a Central Maine Med Life Flight helicopter that landed in a field adjacent to the entrance to the Auto Road.

Winkler was loaded into the helicopter and flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine, for treatment.

No further information was available Sunday night.

Story courtesy of Paul Feely, New Hampshire Union Leader…

New Hampshire has been named the 3^rd best state to have a baby in. With August being one of the most popular months for newborn arrival and Americans paying the highest birthing costs in the world, the personal-finance website WalletHub released today its report on 2017’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby.

To determine the most ideal places in the U.S. to have a baby, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key measures of cost, health care accessibility, as well as baby- and family-friendliness. The data set ranged from hospital conventional-delivery charges to annual average infant-care costs to pediatricians per capita.

New Hampshire ranked third behind Minnesota and Vermont. According to the study the granite state ranked second when it came to lowest hospital cesarean-delivery charges, third for conventional delivery charges, and first for lowest infant mortality rate.

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

As hot temperatures and sunny weather continues so do the increase in calls to local authorities, social media misinformation, and in some case the loss of beloved pets. News Director Christian Mower looked to separate fact from fiction when it comes to how to keep canine friends safe as well as when and when not to act when you see a car in a vehicle on a hot day.

He spoke with local experts Lt. George Walker from the Conway Police Department, Dr. Rachael Kleidon and Dr. Amanda Flagg from North Country Animal Hospital, and Brian Ahearn from Four Your Paws Only.

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