There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff writer Abigail Adams about the letter that Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson wrote last week. Judging from the article, it appears Sanderson and Johnson did end up meeting with Paul Kelley. Johnson is quoted as saying “We have a much better understanding of his perspective, but we didn’t reach any agreement on actions that would get us closer to a resolution without the courts.” Butch Duncan was also quoted as saying “The depleted water level has given me my land back. Now I have a meadow instead of a swamp.” To each his own I guess. Anyways, here’s the article:
Clary Lake Association
Preserving and Protecting Clary Lake
I personally do not own property on the lake. It seems like all that has happened in the last two or more years is that nothing has been done. I think the time for correction has long gone by. All I have seen on these posts is more and more talk. Pretty fed up. I love the lake
Hi Alan, thanks for posting. I share your love of the lake and I totally understand your frustration, though I am not frustrated myself. I can’t afford to be, because there is too much to do and too much at stake. It is unfortunate that the dam owner and his partner who owns the mill are bound and determined to destroy Clary Lake and are willing to go to such lengths to do so when normal people would have cut their losses and left town a long time ago. It just doesn’t make sense, and not a day goes by that I don’t pause to wonder at what motivates these 2 men.
And I know it seems like “nothing has been done” but in fact a great deal has been done in the nearly 4 years since we filed the water level petition. We just don’t have a restored water level to show for it. Yet. But we will.
The work is ongoing: there is a highly motivated staff of lawyers at the Office of the Attorney General who are aggressively defending the Clary Lake water level order in Court. The Department of Environmental Protection is also on-board and engaged, as are our legislators, Senator Christopher Johnson and Representative Deb Sanderson, both of whom have thrown their weight into the ring. The towns of Whitefield and Jefferson support implementation of the water level order, and the Clary Lake Association is actively pursuing a resolution of this crisis on several fronts. Our Board is committed and engaged and our Membership is behind us 100%. There is a resolution out there. I’m not sure exactly what it is going to look like, how much it is going to cost, how we’re going to get there, or how long it is going to take, but I know ultimately we will prevail in this battle. I will not tire, and I will not give up.
As for the “more and more talk” don’t underestimate the importance of public relations! All this talk keeps people informed, active, and engaged.