From his home on Route 3-A in Bristol, Mike Thomas operates Wicked NH Carvings, as I reported in a story appearing this week in The Laker. “If you can show me an idea, I can carve it,” Mike boasts.
He maintains a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/carverit), where you can see some of his creations, which may be better than stopping by his home, since his creations have taken over most of the parking area.
Mike is a freehand artist as well as a carver, but it is carving that caught his attention as a child. “I come from a family of gypsies,” he says. “I was born in 1972 in Lincoln, Maine, but my family traveled everywhere. I grew up in Laconia, but we traveled all over the place, to every state except Hawaii and Alaska.”
Federal Charges Against Alexandria Man
Facing federal charges involving possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell and possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, Robert Adkins, 33, of Alexandria pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced the plea which follows Adkins’ arrest in a combined police investigation that began with the Andover Police Department and spread to the Danbury and Alexandria departments. Adkins’ backpack was found to contain a handgun with a loaded magazine which had been reported stolen in Ashland, and 36 grams of methamphetamine, along with drug packaging materials.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Walsh prosecuted the case.
Businesses Doing Well Have To Return CARES Act Money
In addition to the news that 53 percent of the state’s population has received a first dose and 36 percent are fully vaccinated, New Hampshire can boast of being the only state in the nation where fewer businesses closed in 2020 than closed in 2019.
The bad news for those successful businesses is that, if they had accepted CARES Act funds, intended to offset business losses, they will have to return that money. Governor Chris Sununu expects the state to recoup $50 million from such businesses, and he suggested that it will be reallocated to help the hotel and lodging industry, as well as live venues that were closed during the pandemic.
The latest round of federal COVID aid is expected send almost $1 billion to the state and $450 million to New Hampshire municipalities and counties. Sununu said the state has received no guidance on how that money can be spent, but his team has identified clean drinking water, broadband expansion, mental health services, and state parks as potential beneficiaries of the funds. He also noted that CAPNH.org has millions of dollars available to help people paying rent or mortgages.
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