Second boat, victim found in Lake

MEREDITH (AP) — Authorities have found another boat and another victim after a fatal accident on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith.

Initial reports of the accident indicated that a 20-foot boat had possibly struck bottom near Bear Island on Friday evening. First responders found the boat’s operator dead at the scene, and an injured woman.

As the investigation continued, however, Marine patrol officials determined that there was likely another vessel or structure involved. On Sunday, authorities used special equipment, a state police helicopter and Fish and Game divers to find a second boat in about 48 feet of water. Divers then found a man’s body within the submerged boat.

Authorities now believe the two boats collided with each other. Names of those involved have not been released.

Program looking for ideas on markets

CONCORD (AP) — A program focused on developing new markets for wood products is looking for proposals across northern New England and New York.

Over the next three years, operators of the Future Forest Economy Initiative will invest $2.6 million to expand innovation, create market demand and create conditions that will allow businesses and communities to benefit from these innovations. The deadline for concepts to be considered in the first round of funding in 2020 is Dec. 2.

To be eligible for funding, projects must impact a county or counties within the service region of the Northern Border Regional Commission.

The initiative is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, and the Northern Forest Center.

Driver seriously hurt in multi-vehicle crash

WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) — A driver has been seriously hurt in a crash on a Massachusetts highway involving multiple vehicles.

State Police say the crash happened around 1:45 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 93 near Exit 38 in Wilmington.

They say an SUV travelling on the northbound side struck a sedan, rolled over and was hit by tractor-trailer.

The SUV driver, who police say is a 21-year-old Woburn man, suffered life-threatening injuries and was sent to Lahey Hospital in Burlington for treatment.

The sedan driver, a 46-year-old Westford man, and the tractor-trailer driver, a 57-year-old Manchester, New Hampshire man, weren’t injured.

A fourth vehicle was also disabled after striking crash debris. The driver of that car was also uninjured.

Police haven’t identified anyone involved in the crash. They say the investigation is ongoing.

N.H. officials to reopen bridge

PORTSMOUTH (AP) — New Hampshire officials are going to be reopening a bridge named after a Portsmouth man who died fighting during World War II.

On Monday, officials are planning to reopen the George R. Laderbush Memorial Bridge, which carries motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic over the Route 1 bypass in Portsmouth.

The opening of the bridge marks the completion of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s $20 Million U.S. Route 1 Bypass Bridge Replacement projects.

The projects included the replacement removal and rehabilitation of a number of bridges on the New Hampshire side of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which crosses the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine.

Laderbush died in 1944 when the submarine he was serving on was lost in the Pacific Ocean.

Towns agree to push for bridge repairs

ROCKINGHAM, Vt. (AP) — Two towns have announced plans to write New Hampshire transportation officials to request that the bridge connect they two towns be repaired and reopened.

The Brattleboro Reformer reports that the spandrel-arch Vilas Bridge over the Connecticut River that connects Rockingham, Vermont, and Walpole, New Hampshire, has been closed since it failed an inspection in 2009.

Rockingham Select Board member Stefan Golec says if this bridge fails it will take the sewer line that services Walpole with it.

In addition to the environmental risks, merchants in the village of Bellow Falls say business has slowed since the bridge closed.

New Hampshire owns about 75% of the bridge and historically has been responsible for paying for the bulk of maintenance.

Turtle rescue season starts on Cape Cod

WELLFLEET, Mass. (AP) — The season’s first cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued from Cape Cod beaches over the weekend.

A spokeswoman for Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary says juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtles were found Saturday at beaches in Brewster and Eastham. A third was found Sunday on Great Island in Wellfleet.

The ridleys, the world’s most endangered sea turtles, were taken to the New England Aquarium’s animal care facility in Quincy for medical care and rehabilitation.

A green turtle was found dead Saturday morning in Eastham.

The turtle strandings are an annual event on Cape Cod as the reptiles suffer hypothermia-like symptoms when the weather and water turn cooler.

Last year, the first strandings were reported in late October.

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