New Hampshire
Thomas A. Ennis
Thomas A. Ennis
OBITUARY
Thomas A. Ennis, age 96 passed away peacefully on January 18, 2025 in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire after a brief illness. Tom was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on September 25, 1928, son of the late Thomas F. Ennis and Dorothy Estes Ennis. Tom graduated from Lowell High School in June of 1945. He enlisted in the United States Navy on December 31, 1945. He served on the U.S.S. Springfield based in San Pedro, California until being honorably discharged in October of 1947. Upon returning to Lowell, he followed his father into the printing industry as a plate maker for Shaw Brothers Printing in Lowell. On May 30, 1949 Tom married Mary E. Cusick at St. Margaret’s Church in Lowell. In 1951, Tom and Mary purchased a new home at 37 Main Street in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts where they raised their two children, Robert and Barry. In 1973 they sold this home and moved to 15 Circlefield Drive in Nashua, New Hampshire until they retired. Tom’s career in printing took him from Shaw Brothers printing to Northeast Offset located in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. During his time at Northeast Offset he worked to further his education by attending Fitchburg State University. He obtained his degree and left the printing industry to become a teacher of graphic arts at Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford, Massachusetts in September of 1969, and remained there until his retirement in December of 1989. During this time he was also a member of the Town of Chelmsford’s Planning Board as well as a member of the Chelmsford Junior Chamber of Commerce. Tom and Mary started vacationing in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region in 1962, starting in Guilford’s Lake Shore Park, then moving to the Wanderlust R.V. Park on Tuftonboro Neck from 1964 to it’s closing in1972. They then moved to Whitten’s Shore Acres Campground on Chase Point Road, also in Tuftonboro. In August of 1973, Tom and Mary purchased their home at 2 Pineneedle Cove Road on Sawyer’s Point in Tuftonboro. It was in this house that Mary passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 23, 2011, and where Tom lived out his life! It was their favorite place to be! They loved it! After Tom’s retirement they became full time residents of Tuftonboro and enjoyed life on the “Lake”, spending summers cruising around the lake in their appropriately named boat, the MENNIS, and Tom also enjoyed riding on his jet ski. During their early years of retirement they enjoyed snowmobiling during the winter months, exploring the many miles of trails in the area. After growing tired of all the snow and cold temperatures they began to spend 3 months a year in Florida. Tom continued to drive to Florida every year until he was stranded there by the covid outbreak in the spring of 2020 and decided he would spend his remaining years in Tuftonboro, his favorite place to be! Tom could be seen driving around town in his 2015 Chevy Camaro and 1964 Ford Thunderbird until shortly before his passing! He was a member of the Greatest Generation and they loved to drive everywhere! Tom loved watching football and golf on television and enjoyed the daily happy hour cocktail at 4 o’clock with his friends at his house! Tom was predeceased by his sister Carole Kelly of Long Island, New York in 1991 as well as his wife Mary in 2011. He is survived by his two sons, Robert of Tuftonboro and Barry of Tuftonboro, N.H. and Locke’s Mills, Maine,as well as by his two grandchildren, Sean Ennis and his wife Cassie of Tamworth, N.H. and Meg Ennis of Chandler, Arizona, as well as by 3 great grandchildren Beau Ennis, Rylee Ennis and Lydia Ennis from Tamworth as well.
Tom will be buried next to Mary in the Tuftonboro Town House Cemetery this spring and there will be a Celebration of his Life at the Inn on Main in Wolfeboro, N.H. on June 21, 2025. Details will be forthcoming!
New Hampshire
Bank Robber, Sexual Assaulter, With 40-Plus Year Criminal History, Wanted On Parole Violation: NH DOC
CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is asking for the public’s help in finding a sex offender and robbery convict, with “violent tendencies,” who is wanted on a parole violation.
Michael J. Wells is 60, white, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs around 150 lbs. He has dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. Officials said Wells sometimes uses the following aliases: “Michael Morris,” “Michael Morse,” and “Michael Kirby.” He has Tasmanian devil, star, moon, and skull tattoos on his right arm and a cross over a skull with a spider web on his left arm.
The warrant against Wells was issued by the New Hampshire Parole Board as well as Manchester police for duty to report, after accusing him of absconding from parole and failing to register as a sex offender.
“In December 1994,” an alert stated, “Wells was convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault and as a result, is required to register as a Tier III sex offender for the remainder of his life. Wells is currently on Parole Supervision for robbery.”
In December 2018, Wells robbed the Citizens Bank in Manchester, passing a note stating, “I have a gun. No tracking. No dye bag. $20-$50 quickly. No alarm.” In August 2021, he committed the same offense under similar circumstances, officials said, after he was placed on escape status from the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit. He was arrested in Massachusetts a few weeks later.
Wells is known to frequent both Concord and Manchester.
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Wells criminal history dates back more than four decades, according to superior court records, after he was accused of forgery in Nashua in August 1985. In June 1988, he was convicted on one forgery charge.
Wells was accused of theft in 1990 and he pleaded guilty to the charge a month later.
Wells was accused of bail jumping in February 1989.
In 1994, Wells was accused of aggravated felonious sexual assault, sexual assault, and second-degree assault charges in Nashua. In December 1994, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree assault charge. Wells was found guilty by the court on one aggravated felonious sexual assault charge in January 1996.
Wells was also accused of escape in December 1998.
In 2005 and 2006, more charges were racked up, including four acts prohibited counts in Nashua, a false report to law enforcement, receiving stolen property, two acts prohibited counts in Salem, and forgery in Manchester. Wells was found guilty on two of the drug charges in Salem and the Manchester forgery charge, while the others were nolle prossed.
In April 2019, Wells was convicted on the December 2018 bank robbery charges. He was given a three-and-a-half-to-10-year sentence with 136 days of time served credit and a 10-to-20-year sentence, suspended for 10 years.
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.
New Hampshire
Boston MedFlight expands into NH
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 York2 minutes agoShould a Straight Person Represent Stonewall’s City Council District?
-
Detroit, MI32 minutes agoBlake Miller has high floor, big upside, says Lions GM Brad Holmes
-
San Francisco, CA44 minutes agoHighway 1 closure in San Francisco expected to snarl Sunset traffic all weekend
-
Dallas, TX50 minutes agoHow UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence Fits With The Dallas Cowboys
-
Miami, FL56 minutes ago
Dolphins Select Two Players in The First Round of The 2026 NFL Draft
-
Boston, MA1 hour agoIn-Store Only
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoWolves Back Up the Big Talk With Blowout Win Over Denver in Game 3
-
Seattle, WA1 hour ago‘Rare’ Tiny-Home Compound Featuring 3 Adorable Abodes Hits the Market in Seattle for Just $900K