WMWV – 93.5

From left to right Joan McBurnie from Harvest Hills, Kate Bailey from Conway Humane Society, Dave DiMatteo from Lucy Hardware, Stacey Klimkosky Fisher Brown’s owner, Magic 104 Morning Show Host and Station Manager Gino Devaney.

Conway, NH – A local radio contest winner gave up her prize to help two local animal shelters. WVMJ Magic 104 fm teamed up with Lucy Hardware to give away a year supply of Natural Balance Dog food to one lucky winner. Out of the close to 90 photo submissions Fisher Brown’s picture was chosen as the winner.

The winning photo of Fisher Brown.

Stacey Klimkosky Fisher’s owner was delighted to win however at the time Fisher Brown was dealing with some serious health issues. Klimkosky said “He was diagnosed with lymphoma in March and my vet didn’t really know if he would have 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months.” She added “I am able to provide good for him (Fisher Brown). Not everybody is able to do that, and I just wanted to just give back to the community.” So in light of this Klimkosky decided that she would donate her prize of a 28lb bag of Natural Balance Dog Food a month for a year to local animal shelters.

After hearing about winning Fisher Brown and his owner Stacey Klimkosky announced that they would donate their prize.

Inspired by Klimkosky’s generous donation Dave DiMatteo from Lucy Hardware wanted to help out as well. Dimatteo said that instead of giving Klimkosky a single 28lb bag of Natural Balance Dog Food a month for a year, he would split the prize giving 6 bags of food to the Conway Area Humane Society and 6 bags to Harvest Hills Animal Shelter all at once so they could use it immediately. Dimatteo also wanted to inspire others to help local shelters so he decided to give them some incentive. Dimatteo said “Anyone that adopts a dog from the shelters, if they bring in their adoption certificate, we’ll give them 20% off their first year’s worth of Natural Balance Dog Food. The other thing we’re going to do is if someone wants to donate food to the shelters we’ll give them 20% off when they purchase it, then I will run the food over to the shelter of their choice.”

Joan McBurnie from Harvest Hills Animal Shelter that their shelter is currently full and the large sum of food will really help out. Saying “Every bit of food helps. The high quality food is definitely a plus for us. That is going to last us quite a while”.

In June Magic 104, Lucy Hardware, and Natural Balance Dog Food held the Cutest Dog Photo Contest. Listeners were asked to submit a cute photo of their four legged friends in order to win a years supply of Natural Balance Dog Food. 88 Photos were submitted and then narrowed down to a top 5. The top 5 were then posted up on the Magic 104 website for listeners to vote on for a week. Fisher Brown won with 35% of the 795 votes.

To help, donate, or learn more about the Conway Area Humane Society and Harvest Hills Animal Shelter visit their respective websites at conwayshelter.org or harvesthills.org.

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…