Category Archives: Local Events

46th Annual Maine Lakes Conference Coming Up June 25th

The Maine Lakes Society (formerly the Congress of Lake Associations or COLA) is holding their Annual Maine Lakes Conference on the 25th of this month. The itinerary, as usual, looks excellent. The Clary Lake Association is a long-time member of the Maine Lakes Society. For years the annual COLA conference was attended by Association Member Ed Grant. I’ve made a point of going in recent years and I always learn something new. I’ll be going to this one. The cost is $35 which includes lunch.

Here’s the email notice I received about this event:

We invite you to join us at the 46th Annual Maine Lakes Conference on Saturday, June 25th, at the Unity College Center for the Performing Arts!


	Keynote Speaker Holly Ewing of Bates College

This year we look to the future of Maine lakes monitoring and protection, and the myriad ways citizens can get involved in lake protection. Our Keynote Speaker, Holly Ewing of Bates College, will introduce us to the latest research on Gloeotrichia echinulata blooms and GLEON, the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network, which is helping scientists and citizens alike better understand and communicate the way lakes are responding to our changing climate. Afternoon workshops on citizen science, lake and fisheries restoration, the latest on LakeSmart, new partnerships with Maine Audubon’s Stream Smart and LoonSmart programs, translating science in your outreach products, and hands on workshops offer diverse learning experiences at a great new venue in Unity, Maine.

REGISTER TODAY!

Additional Workshops include:

Cyanotoxins and Maine’s developing Public Alert System for Harmful Algal Blooms
What’s that stuff in the water? The appearance of metaphyton and other algae in our lakes and ponds
Long term, statewide collaborative lake monitoring efforts
Special guest Friends of Lake Winnecook
The latest “Get Smart” tips from LakeSmart and Stream Smart
Hands on instruction with lake monitoring technology
Our new partnership with Maine Audubon’s LoonSmart Program
Creative tools for translating water quality data into meaningful communications
Lake and fisheries restoration efforts
Nature Journaling ~ Fish Identification ~ Art Exhibit
Lunchtime breakouts: Council of Lake Associations Annual Roundtable, Camp Care, and Invasive Plant Monitoring FAQ’s

The annual conference will be at the fabulous Unity College Center for the Performing Arts nearLake Winnecook in Unity, Maine. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and website for more information on presentations and speakers. We are also still welcoming conference sponsors!

We hope to see you there!

*Cheryl Daigle*	&	*Maggie Shannon*
Executive Director		Program Director, LakeSmart & Policy

Maine Lakes Society
P O Box 447

Belgrade Lakes, Maine 04918

www.mainelakessociety.org

207-495-2301

2016 Clary Lake Association Annual Meeting Scheduled

This year’s Annual meeting of the Clary Lake Association will be on Saturday, August 6th at 2:00 PM at the home of Erin Grimshaw and Christina Bishop (and their three sons) located at 739 Gardiner Road (aka Route 126) in Jefferson. Their home is located about 1/3 of a mile west of (towards Whitefield) the intersection of Route 126 and 215. Most of you will know the place: this is the house at the lower end of the old MacDonald hay field overlooking Clary Lake (picture, below left), and at the end of a looooong driveway. Andy Goss built it a few years ago; Erin and Christina have owned it since 2013. Here’s a Google Map showing the location. If you need help finding the place call 207-549-5991 for directions. The rain date, on the off chance it is raining on Saturday, is the same time, same place, next day. I can’t remember the last time the Annual meeting was rained out. I don’t know if it’s ever happened.

As usual, there will be a pot luck supper at the conclusion of the meeting so bring your favorite casserole, salad, desert, bread, dip, road kill, or what have you and plan to stay awhile and socialize.

We’ll be sending out the 2016 Spring/Summer Newsletter in a couple of weeks or thereabouts, and will include some additional information about the Annual meeting and what to expect. Included in the newsletter will be a membership form for the upcoming 2016/2017 membership year. Dues are still only $25 per year and the membership year runs from annual meeting to annual meeting, therefore in order to be able to participate in this meeting, you have to be a paid-up member for the coming year. We encourage you to mail in your membership form prior to the annual meeting. A lot of you like to renew your membership at the meeting, and that is fine too but we ask that you come a early to register and get settled as we have a lot of business to conduct and will want to start the meeting promptly at 2:00 pm. The registration table will be setup by 1:00 pm. Continue reading →

15 March 2016: The Story of a Performing Arts Community on Clary Lake

The Whitefield Historical Society and the Jefferson Historical Society are putting on a program this coming Sunday, March 20th at the Whitefield Townhouse on Townhouse Road in Whitefield. Below is the cover illustration of the Whitefield Historical Society’s latest newsletter.

A performing arts community settled at the eastern end of Clary Lake beginning in the early 1900s. Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Ann Ward; Lucy Lee, a reader; Percy Hunt, baritone, and his wife, Katherine Ridgeway, a reader performed together on the Redpath Lyceum circuit; France King Ward, Crawford Peffer and his wife, Ella Harding, soprano; F. Morse Wemple and George Fergusson, baritones, who taught voice with Percy Hunt at the New England Conservatory. Mr. Peffer owned the New York and New England Redpath Lyceum and Chatauqua Circuits. Katherine Ridgeway and Ella Peffer went on to establish the Katherine Ridgeway Camp for Girls on the northern side of the lake. Descendants and people who knew them are encouraged to come and share their memories

George Fergusson, pictured above at 11 o’clock was my grandfather. He came to Maine and bought our property on Clary Lake in 1922. I well remember from my childhood days visiting with Percy Hunt and his sister Lucy Lee who lived across the road from the Highland Cemetery in a house now owned by Fasano, the Ward Sisters whose house and property on North Forty Lane is now owned by the Relyea family, and Morse Wemple whose property at the east end of Clary Lake was owned for many years by the Stickney family and is now owned by Glenn Bruce MacDonald. I never knew the Peffer family but understand their property was located just north of the Wemple property. The Robbins property on Clary Lake is part of the old Peffer place. They probably owned that nice red cape out in the field just up the hill from the Wemple place.

My sister and I have worked closely with Marie Sacks this past year to help her collect the information and materials she’ll be using in her presentation. I’m really looking forward to this!

13 March 2016: Time Lapse Video of Clary Lake Ice Out, Spring 2016

Last spring I made time lapse video using campics from the original ClaryCam showing the 2015 ice-out event. I decided to do that again, because I can. This video actually covers 2 days, March 12 and 13 with most of the night time images NOT included, because boring. Not much happens on the first day but the wind really picks up midday on the 13th:

13 March 2016: Ice Out on Clary Lake

Clary Lake Ice Out 3-13-16

David Hodsdon usually makes the official ice-out determination but I haven’t heard from him today and according to my precise calculations, today Clary Lake became completely ice-free. The northwest end of the lake from the outlet around the point at the end of Duncan Road has been ice-free for some days but the southern side which gets less direct sunlight was still mostly iced in until yesterday. Today’s high winds (see above) rapidly broke up and dispersed the remaining ice sheets. Today marks the earlier start of the open water season on Clary Lake going as far back as 2001, when our records start. The criterion for ice-out is when the lake is sufficiently free of ice that one can boat round the lake within a few feet of shore (essentially completely free of ice).

According to the Clary Lake Water Level Order, at ice-out the lake level should be at or very near the “normal historical high water mark” of the lake which has been determined by DEP survey to be at an elevation of 151.2′ which corresponds with the top of the dam. The lake level is supposed to be maintained at that elevation or as close to it as possible through the end of July to provide a stable water level to maintain fish and waterfowl breeding habitat. Unfortunately, the lake level is currently a little more than 2 feet below that elevation and falling and with no snow pack to provide spring runoff, we’re entirely dependent on spring rains to keep the lake level from falling too far, too fast. I’m not very optimistic.

I’ll post a time lapse video of this year’s ice-out shortly. I can’t wait to get my boat in the water.

01 February 2016: About that Dam Auction

“Dog and Pony Show” is a colloquial term which has come to mean a highly promoted, often over-staged performance, presentation, or event designed to sway or convince opinion for political or commercial ends.

The anticipated foreclosure and auction of the Clary Lake dam took place Friday morning at 11 AM on the steps of the Lincoln County Court House in Wiscasset. The auctioneer was a man named Gregg Dorr who introduced himself as a retired attorney from Camden, hired by Medius L3C for the sole purpose of running this event. When questioned, he said his only contact at Medius L3C was with a “managing partner” of the company by the name of Matthew Staples, from Vermont. When questioned about the new Medius L3C Registered Agent, he explained the change in Registered Agent from Ms. Merritt Carey to a Commercial Registered Agent from Readfield was due to a serious heart condition requiring that she give up the job immediately. If you’re interested, here is the Change of Registered Agent Form from the Secretary of State’s website. Continue reading →

18 January 2016: [UPDATED] Meeting to discuss Coopers Mills Dam proposal this Thursday January 21st

[dropcap]There[/dropcap] will be a meeting on January 21st at 7 PM at the Whitefield School to discuss Coopers Mills dam options. The Coopers Mills Dam Committee will be presenting its findings, options, and recommendations for the Coopers Mills dam. All are welcome, even if you’re not a Whitefield resident. The following information comes from a Midcoast Conservancy email I received the other day:

Options include: 1. Do nothing; 2. Repair the dam at Town expense; or 3. Remove the dam and create public access along with historical and environmental displays at the dam site, fully funded by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF).

There is an important water source for the fire department behind the dam. There are engineering proposals for alternative sites within the river with some redundancy. These options, which would also be funded by ASF, deserve your careful consideration along with fish passage, historical, community and financial considerations. Please consider attending this meeting to voice your opinion.

Andy Goode with the Atlantic Salmon Federation sent me a site plan (with legend) showing the proposed design for the Coopers Mills dam site. The PDF at left consists of 2 pages, the plan and a legend page that I made from the original PowerPoint presentation, which was quite large. The PDF is still pretty large. To make it easier to view I’ve blown up a section of the original plan and saved it and the legend page in separate files.

Meeting Reminder: Property Tax Abatement Information Meeting this Tuesday 11/17

[dropcap]Just[/dropcap] a quick reminder that the Whitefield Select Board will be holding an informational meeting at 6:00 PM this coming Tuesday November 17th for people who filed property tax abatement requests this past fall. The meeting will be held at the Whitefield Fire & Rescue building, Townhouse Road (map). This Select Board sent a letter last week to interested parties which was posted here (see below).

10 November 2015: Whitefield responds to Clary Lake shore owner abatement requests

[dropcap]The[/dropcap] Whitefield Select Board is sending the following letter to Clary Lake shore owners that filed property tax abatement forms recently. According to the letter, all the abatement requests were made too late to apply to the 2014/2015 tax year, a mistake I expect will be easy to remedy. It does appear that the Whitefield Board members are being proactive and showing concern and understanding for the situation faced by Clary Lake shore owners.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://clarylake.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Whitefield_abatement_response_11-10-2015.pdf”]

05 November 2015: Whitefield Selectmen to Hold Meeting on Clary Lake Abatement Requests

There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff reporter Abigail Adams about an informational meeting to be held by the Whitefield Selectmen for Clary Lake shore owners who filed property tax abatement requests this past fall due to the impact low lake levels have had on their property values. The meeting will be held on November 17th at the Select Board’s regularly scheduled Tuesday night board meeting. The article states that the aim of the meeting is to educate landowners about the town’s current valuation methods for waterfront property. Apparently some of the abatement requests were not considered because they were received after the deadline for filing them. Abatement requests have to be filed within 185 days of when the taxes are committed.

Assessor’s Agent Tom Hayes who is quite familiar with the water level issue plaguing lake shore owners stated that Whitefield’s valuation for shore front property is already “as low as it gets.” This is small consolation to property owners who can’t deploy their docks, launch their boats, go swimming, or otherwise use and enjoy the lake in the manner in which they have become accustomed. People trying to sell their property are finding it almost impossible because of the low water conditions on their shoreline. The low water conditions which have persisted more or less continuously for the last 4 years were especially worse this past summer due to the extremely dry conditions with the lake reaching levels lower than anyone can remember.

Whitefield Selectmen to Hold Meeting on Clary Lake Abatement Requests

Continue reading →

30 October 2015: Grand Army Weather station back online

Tim Chase’s Grand Army Weather Station and Web Cam have been offline since sometime in 2013. Last month I helped Tim get his Web Cam back up and running, and since then he’s been working at getting his new Grand Army Weather Station hardware set up, wired, and calibrated. Today we spent the afternoon working together and got his weather station updating his website again. We’ve got plans to give his site a face lift and add some additional functions and features later this winter. Stay tuned.

http://www.grandarmyweather.com/

The weather data is uploaded to the website every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. It’s great to have a local weather station to refer to again, and I’ll probably use a some of the data on this site, and likely will start using the precipitation data on the Clary Lake water level charts.

24 October 2015: The DLWA, SVCA, HVNC, and SWLA Join Forces

[dropcap]The[/dropcap] Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association, the Hidden Valley Nature Center, the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, and the Sheepscot Wellspring Land Alliance have joined forces and formed a new organization, Midcoast Conservancy. Clary Lake is smack in the middle of the aggregate land area covered by this new organization. This alliance has been coming together slowly over the past year and it sounds like they’re now finalizing the transition. The following is from an announcement email I received from the HVNC a couple of days ago.

Displaying

Meet Midcoast Conservancy!

Our new name is just the beginning of an exciting period of transition

We listened to your input. We asked our supporters to weigh in on the new name of our merged organization and we received over 50 suggested names, nearly 400 responses to our survey, and nearly 200 helpful comments. Thank you! In addition we sought out help from marketing experts. All this pointed us back to Midcoast Conservancy! Continue reading →

A few Super Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Photos

The September 27, 2015 Super Moon total lunar eclipse about 15 minutes before totality. Notice the 3 stars below the moon! Photographed by George Fergusson using a Nikon D3300 DSLR at the prime focus of a 6″ f/5 newtonian reflector at the Brower Observatory in Whitefield.

About 20 people including half a dozen children showed up at the Brower Observatory the last Sunday night to observe the Super Moon total lunar eclipse. There were a number of telescopes set up to observe the moon. The main function of a telescope is to collect light and usually bigger is better but since the moon is so bright, you don’t really need a big telescope to get good views of it. I set up my 6″ f/5 Newtonian reflector that I built back in 1975 and attached my Nikon D3300 DSLR camera at the prime focus and took a whole bunch of photographs, a few of which I’ve uploaded to the User Uploads gallery. The moon can be a challenging object to photograph because it’s very bright and usually lacks contrast. These came out nicely I thought:

David Hodsdon also uploaded a lovely picture he took of the moon as it rose across the lake from his home.

The Central Maine Astronomical Society (CMAS) holds star parties at the Brower Observatory every couple of months. Star parties are open to the general public and you need not own a telescope, all you really need to bring is your interest and imagination. CMAS also periodically hosts star parties at the Galaxy Quest Observatory in Lincolnville and at the Damariscotta River Association‘s headquarters at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta. I‘ll post CMAS events at the Brower Observatory on our Events Calendar.

28 August 2015: Wednesday night meeting to air grievances about Clary Lake well attended

CLA President and meeting moderator Malcolm Burson sits between State Representative Deb Sanderson and State Senator Christopher Johnson near the end of the August 26th meeting of Clary Lake shore owners and town of Whitefield officials. Photograph by George Fergusson 26 August 2015

Judging from the turnout (at least 61 people, maybe more) and the feedback (more than 31 people spoke, some of them more than once) I’d say last night’s standing-room-only meeting was a great success. The meeting, which came about as a result of discussions earlier in the month between Clary Lake Association (CLA) representatives and State Representative Deb Sanderson, was well-moderated by CLA President Malcolm Burson. In an outstanding show of solidarity, both State Representative Deb Sanderson (a Republican) and State Senator Christopher Johnson (a Democrat) ran the meeting together in a refreshing show of non-partisan cooperation. While the Clary Lake water level crisis is not a partisan issue, it was still refreshing and encouraging to see our two elected representatives completely aligned and working together towards a common goal. They will be working together to draft a letter to, and bring this matter to the attention of, the Department of Environmental Protection.

One of the main goals of the meeting had been to arrange for Clary Lake shore owners and other community members share their grievances with officials from both towns in the hopes of spurring them to take a more active role in support of the State’s defense of the water level order. To that end, Representative Sanderson had extended an invitation to both Jefferson and Whitefield officials to attend the meeting. While all 5 of Whitefield’s Select Board members were at the meeting, to everyone’s surprise, none of Jefferson’s 3 Select Board members decided to attend. This was an insult to the Jefferson residents that represented over 1/2 of the people that showed up and spoke at the meeting. Continue reading →

25 March 2015: Whitefield Selectmen Vote to Waive Foreclosure on Clary Lake Dam

Paul Kelley (left), of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, and Richard Smith, of Aquafortis Associates LLC, speak about the non-payment of property taxes at the Whitefield selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, March 24. (Abigail Adams photo)

There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by reporter Abigail Adams about the Town of Whitefield waiving automatic foreclosures on property belonging to Aquafortis Associates LLC and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC. The article includes a lot of background information with the only obvious error being that it indicates the 2 parcels owned by Aquafortis Associates are “downstream” from the dam whereas in fact, they are on opposite sides of Route 218; the 1 acre vacant lot is actually located on the same side of the road as, and on the south side of, the Clary Lake dam.

Here’s a link to the article on the Lincoln County News site (I will archive a copy of the article in a few days):

Whitefield Selectmen Vote to Waive Foreclosure on Clary Lake Dam

I posted about this story last week; see: 19 March 2015: Whitefield votes to waive automatic foreclosures on PPM, AQF properties.

11 January 2015: Winter recreation opportunities abound

Recreation opportunities abound on Clary Lake this winter, apparently. While the rest of us were ice skating down in the west end of the lake, David Knight was out doing donuts on his riding lawn mower with his faithful companion Megabyte:

David Knight and Megabyte out for a spin

Whitefield Selectman’s Meeting Agenda for Tuesday 23 September 2014

Town of Whitefield

Below is a tentative agenda for Tuesday’s meeting:

Town of Whitefield Selectmen’s Agenda
September 23, 2014

Item Time Agenda Item
6:00 pm Call meeting to order
Sign Minutes 9/9/14
6:05 pm Sign Warrants Accounts Payable/Payroll
6:15 pm Fuel bids
6:20 pm Roadside Brush cutting
6:30 pm Paul Kelley RE: Building transfer
7:00 pm Fred Duncan RE: Senott Rd./DEP Letter/Tax issue
7:15 pm Discussion

a. Inter local community cooperation
b. Next Week’s Agenda
c. Other
8:00 pm Adjournment

SVCA sponsoring the Coopers Mills Migratory Fish Day, June 1st

Coopers Mills Migratory Fish Day

Time: Sunday, June 1, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Place: Whitefield Lions Club, Coopers Mills

The Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association invites residents of Whitefield to see and learn about the migratory fish that call the Sheepscot River home. Department of Marine Resources fisheries biologists will talk about our migratory fish, their life history, ecology, and how these species benefit people and the river.

Join us for a conversation at the river’s edge followed by a presentation by DMR fisheries biologist Claire Enterline at the Whitefield Lions Club, 52 Maine Street, Coopers Mills.

*Arrive and park at the Lions Club Den (red schoolhouse next to the Sheepscot Valley Health Center) and we will take a 10 minute walk down the hill for a riverside conversation; returning at 11:00 for the presentation.

12 May 2014: Date set for 2014 Annual Clary Lake Association meeting

The Clary Lake Association Board met yesterday afternoon at the home of George and Margaret Fergusson to discuss, among other things, the upcoming Annual meeting. This year’s annual Clary Lake Association meeting will be Saturday August 2nd at 2:00 PM at the home of Ellis Percy and Joann Tribby. They live in the last house at end of the Madden Road in Jefferson. The rain date will be the next day, same time same place. The big item to be voted on at this year’s meeting will be the revised bylaws. You may recall that a Bylaws Committee was formed at last year’s meeting and charged with the responsibility of reviewing and revising the Association bylaws. The last time the bylaws were revised was in 2001 so they’re long overdue for an overhaul.

The Bylaws committee members have been busy this past winter making many necessary revisions; the proposed revised bylaws will be sent out to the membership for review (along with a proxy ballot for those members who won’t be able to make it to the meeting to vote) well in advance of the Annual meeting. At this time we’re planning to send them out with the Summer 2014 newsletter on or about the 15th of June. The proposed bylaws will also be posted here, perhaps along with a totally unofficial opinion poll to give people an opportunity to comment on them.

More meeting details, a program, and proposed agenda to follow. This event has been added to the Clary Lake Association Events Calendar. Stay tuned!

04 January 2014: Volume 1 Issue 7 of Whitefield Newsletter now available

whitefield_logo The Town of Whitefield has been publishing a monthly newsletter since last July and they’re quite enjoyable. If you happen by the North Whitefield Superette you’ll find the latest issue on the counter, free of charge. Otherwise they’re available online on the Town of Whitefield website. You can also receive the newsletter by email by signing up at www.townofwhitefield.com/Newsletter.html.

This issue has an article by Tony Marple about the Central Maine Astronomical Society’s Brower Observatory located across the road from my house in my sister’s back yard, at 341 Jefferson Road. The observatory houses a 16″ Newtonian reflector as well as numerous other scopes of all sorts, and an extensive library of books, star charts, and atlases. The Central Maine Astronomical Society’s website is http://maineastro.com/

January 2014 Whitefield News

Incidentally, Whitefield’s tax maps and assessors land records are now online. This is huge. Get with it Jefferson! More about this in another post when I get a chance.