Also on today’s menu:
Bishop Killed While Crossing The Road
Threats Ahead Of Capitol Hearings
With $12 million in American Rescue Plan money available to towns that are able to pick up 10 percent of the costs, communities across the state have been able to purchase emergency equipment. Bristol bought a pickup truck for its emergency response team; Northfield put the money toward ventilators for an ambulance; and Franklin is hoping to use its grant to cover some of the $69,000 cost of two cardiac monitors.
Annmarie Timmons reports that, during the pandemic, Bristol Fire Chief Ben LaRoche had started sending a second vehicle to emergency scenes as a way of separating response team members who were exposed to COVID-19 from those who were not. The reimbursement grant allowed the town to purchase a pickup truck that can accommodate more people and transport equipment that must be decontaminated after an emergency call. The truck also can tow the regional public health trailers. The fire department would have had to replace its old truck in three to five years, LaRoche said.
Bristol is waiting on approval of additional reimbursement requests for a mechanical CPR device and a lights and radio system for the truck, LaRoche said.
Bishop Killed While Crossing The Road
A woman in her 60s who apparently was blinded by the sun while traveling on Route 4A past La Salette shrine in Enfield on Saturday struck and killed Bishop Emeritus Joseph Donald Pelletier, who had been a La Salette missionary and was the retired bishop of the Diocese of Morondava, Madagascar. The 90-year-old priest was visiting La Salette, where he had pursued his early studies that led to the priesthood.
Pelletier professed his vows as a La Salette missionary in 1951 and was ordained in 1956. Two years later, he arrived in Madagascar for missionary work, remaining there more than 60 years. Pelletier was ordained bishop of the Diocese of Morondava in February 2000, and served as bishop for 10 years, assuming emeritus status.
He was visiting New Hampshire and arrived at the shrine earlier on the day of his death. The accident occurred about 5:15 p.m. and, although emergency workers attempted life-saving measures, they were unable to revive Pelletier and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Threats Ahead Of Capitol Hearings
Law enforcement officials are reporting a spike in violent threats against members of Congress as the House Select Committee To Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol lays out its case, beginning tonight. The committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews to stand as a public record for history.
The hearings will open with eyewitness testimony from the first police officer pummeled by the mob and from a documentary filmmaker who recorded the action that day. It also will feature the committee’s accounts from Trump’s aides and family members.
The proceedings are to include video never before seen by the public, as well as audio recordings and a “mountain of evidence” that will attempt to show both the deadly violence that day and how former president Donald Trump tried to overturn Joe Biden Jr.’s election victory.
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