New Hampshire
Hikers from Somerville, Bellingham rescued in separate incidents in New Hampshire’s White Mountains – The Boston Globe
A fall weekend in New Hampshire led to rescues of injured hikers and crashes involving ATV drivers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, officials said.
Conservation officers responded Sunday to Edmands Path in the White Mountain National Forest for an injured hiker who was about two miles from the trailhead, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.
Kyleigh Burns, 25, of Somerville, was heading up the trail when she slipped, fell, and injured her lower leg, officials said. Her fellow hikers tried to treat her leg but Burns couldn’t put any weight on it.
She called 911 around 12:15 p.m. and while waiting for rescuers to arrive, she was able “to descend by assistance from her hiking companions and by scooting herself down the trail approximately 1,000 feet,” officials said.
Burns was placed in a rescue litter and carried to the parking lot, arriving around 4:30 p.m. She declined an ambulance ride and was taken by her friends to an medical facility, officials said.
Conservation officers and 22 volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) and Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue took part in the rescue.
On Friday night, a Bellingham woman needed help while hiking Mount Chocorua, officials said. Calie Bridges, 25, injured her ankle but tried to continue her hike with her three companions, officials said.
“She did continue hiking with the injury but her progress was slowed. The group called for help when they realized that their phones were running low and that their lights were failing,” the agency said. “Calie was nearly 2.5 miles from the trailhead when darkness forced her to stop walking.”
Two conservation officers arrived to splint Bridges ankle and provid the hikers with lights.
“Calie was then able to hike slowly out to the trailhead,” officials said. “She arrived back at the trailhead shortly after 3:30 a.m. and was driven from the scene by her friends.”
Conservation officers also responded to ATV crashes over the weekend. On Sunday around 5 p.m., officers were alerted that Nicholas Arsenis of North Reading had crashed the ATV he was driving on private land in Raymond.
Arsenis “lost control of his ATV and rolled the machine” and was taken to Elliot Hospital in Manchester. His injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation the primary causation of the crash was operator error,” officials said. Arsenis was not wearing a helmet and was cited for driving an off-road vehicle without written permission from the landowner.
On Saturday around 5:30 p.m., conservation officers responded to an ATV crash on the Presidential Rail Trail in Gorham where emergency personnel were providing first aid to John Allen, 39, of North Kingston, R.I.
“Allen was traveling first in a group of three machines on his way back to the parking lot in Gorham,” officials said. “While riding down the trail, he failed to see the reflective gate across the Presidential Rail Trail designed to keep motor vehicles off the trail.”
To avoid hitting the fence, “Allen locked up his brakes and steered his machine to the side just before running into the gate. His machine did not collide with the gate, however, Allen was thrown over the gate, striking his lower body against it.”
His companions made an emergency call. Allen was taken to the Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, the agency said.
“Investigators believe that inattention and speed for the combined conditions are the primary factors in this crash. Alcohol and drug intoxication are not considered factors,” officials said.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.
New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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