11 April 2017: State Files Response to AQF Motion to Modify Record

A few weeks ago I posted about 2 filings by the State asking the court to consider the “mootness” and “justiciability” of a request made by Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] for additional discovery. In those filings the State asked the court to DENY the AQF motion. There is also another pending AQF Rule 80C(f) Motion Requesting Court Modification the [Administrative] Record that has now been addressed by the State. In English what it means is AQF wants to add various documents to the Record because they think they are important and relevant to their case. Personally I think the real purpose of this and similar motions is not the pursuit of justice at all, but rather, is simply to bury the court in ever growing piles of useless documents intended to bog down the legal proceedings and drag things out. Because that’s how the game is played. But I digress.

I’m sorry to be just getting to this now: back on April 3, 2017 the State filed DEP’s response to AQF’s Rule 80C(f) Motion Requesting Court Modification of the Record. The filing includes a Proposed Order for the Judge to sign should he uphold the State’s motion. Besides the legal mumbo jumbo that we all struggle with, there is fairly clear and understandable content in this filing and I encourage everyone to take a look at it. I’ll explain what it means below:

State Response to Petitioners’ Motion Requesting Court Modification of the Record

Continue reading →

Love and Loss… and Mindfulness

DSC_3851 (Medium)First, I’d like to thank everyone who has reached out to me and my family since the unfortunate house fire at the Fergusson ancestral home where my son has been living on the south shore of Clary Lake. The fire occurred last Wednesday evening, most likely starting as a chimney fire. There has been an unending stream of people arriving at my front door ever since with gifts of money, food, clothes, and offers of all sorts of assistance from places to stay to labor for cleanup and rebuilding. My son Colin and his girlfriend Sara spent 4 days staying (free of charge) at Rick and Linda Gallion’s Clary Lake Bed & Breakfast which I can assure you was a whole lot nicer than the pullout couch in my wife’s reading room. Today they moved out of the B&B and into a house in Chelsea that a friend of theirs has had on the market for a while. They’re welcome to stay there until the place sells. They’ve taken 2 of their 3 cats with them, having decided to leave Mehitabelle with Margaret and me. We’re thrilled.

The plan right now is for the family to rebuild, but there’s a lot to be done between now and then and it’s really too soon to be talking about that. Clean up has only begun, and the task is daunting. I am grateful for having been able to use this Association forum to share our experience, strength, and hope, but Clary Lake needs saving, and it is time to move on and put this unfortunate event in the rear view mirror. To that end, I am going to close with an email my wife composed and sent to her long list of friends. She just has a way with words that I lack. Continue reading →

10 April 2017 Central Maine Papers: Whitefield Dam Owner Files For Bankruptcy Protection

A new Central Maine Papers article by KJ staff writer Jessica Lowell appeared on-line last night and will be in today’s print edition. It is about Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s [PPM] mind-boggling decision to file for bankruptcy, it also contains the necessary background to acquaint the reader with the basic facts of the story if they’re coming into this mess cold. The article contains a few mistakes (alternative facts?) which however do nothing to detract from it’s otherwise accurate and fair reporting. You have to admit, after 5+ years, our story has gotten pretty hard to follow. This is the first newspaper article about Clary Lake in over a year, and in my opinion it is overdue (shift-click to open link in a new tab):

Whitefield dam owner files for bankruptcy protection

Continue reading →

March 2017 Water Level Chart Archived

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March 2017

I have archived the March 2017 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable feature of the March chart is the relatively stable water level throughout the entire month. The water level started out at -36.48″ below the high water mark [HWM], hit a high four days later of -30.48″ below the HWM on the 4th, and after falling very gradually it ended the month only 2.28″   lower than it started, at -34.20″ below the HWM, and this with the gate wide open for the entire month! Where did the runoff come from to offset all the water leaving the lake? Continue reading →

25 March 2017: Update on Pleasant Pond Mill Bankruptcy Filing

I have learned some details of the Pleasant Pond Mill LLC bankruptcy filing. First, it is a Chapter 7 bankruptcy which means the company and its assets will be liquidated by the Bankruptcy Court. Pleasant Pond Mill LLC [PPM] is being represented by a Portland attorney that specializes in bankruptcies. PPM will not emerge from this bankruptcy as a reorganized company; this is the beginning of the end of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC. Rest assured that while this action will wipe out PPM’s debt and dispose of its property, the bankruptcy will have no effect on the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO] which is and will remain in force, if not actually enforced, until the pending appeal in Superior Court is finished. Likewise, that litigation will not be affected by this bankruptcy because PPM and Paul Kelley are no longer parties to that appeal. Remember: the WLO runs with the land, not the owner; the new owner of the Clary Lake dam, whomever that is, will be subject to the WLO.  Continue reading →

24 March 2017: State files 2 Motions in Aquafortis v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection WLO Appeal

On March 20, 2017 the State on behalf of DEP made two filings in Lincoln County Superior Court in their defense of the Clary Lake Water Level Order. These filings were made pursuant to the Court’s February 21, 2017 Order which (among other things) set the 3/20/17 deadline for the filing of “any additional motions concerning discovery or the course of future proceedings.” The first filing was a “Motion For Consideration Of Extra-Record Evidence For [the_tooltip text=”Mootness” tooltip=”In the legal system of the United States, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law.” url=”” background=”” color=””] and [the_tooltip text=”Justiciability” tooltip=”Justiciability concerns the limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial authority. It includes, but is not limited to, the legal concept of standing” url=”” background=”” color=””] Purposes” and the second filing was the State’s “Opposition to Petitioner’s Motion for Taking of Additional Evidence and Discovery.” Both of these motions pertain to issues going to last August when the State submitted the Administrative Record and as far back as a year ago when Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] filed their amended petition (and the amended petition was required because the Judge threw Paul Kelley and his canceled company Pleasant Pond Mill LLC out of the case; see: 30 January 2016: Superior Court grants State’s Motion to Dismiss“).

Here are the latest filings- these really are fascinating documents and are well worth reading: Continue reading →

22 March 2017: Pleasant Pond Mill LLC Files For Bankruptcy

Based upon a letter hand delivered by Paul Kelley to the Lincoln County Superior Court yesterday, March 21, 2017, it appears that Clary Lake dam owner Pleasant Pond Mill LLC has filed for Bankruptcy. I picked up a copy of the letter today (see below). The letter doesn’t offer much information so it is not known at this time what kind of bankruptcy Mr. Kelley is pursuing. We’ll just have to wait and see! There are 2 kinds of bankruptcy available to corporations in Maine and the type chosen depends on whether one intends to liquidate (Chapter 7) their company, or attempt to reorganize it (Chapter 11).

Clary Lake: A Year In Pictures

A little over a year ago I got this idea of assembling a year’s worth of webcam pictures into a video. Our webcams take a picture every two minutes from 4:00 AM until 10:00 PM and upload them to the server, so I simply modified the script that manages the webcam photos so as to archive all pictures taken at the top of the hour (i.e., 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, etc) in a separate directory for safe keeping. Then I forgot about it. Then a couple of days ago, I remembered it!

So here is the video. It covers 365 days from March 9, 2016 through March 9, 2017. There are a few days missing (including 3-13-16 through 3-15-16 which coincided with ice out last spring for some reason, and a couple of other days in the fall). I also decided to delete all the night-time photos, ending up with 4,651 pictures covering Clary Lake in all its glory, compiled into a video at a frame rate of 10/second. It is 7:45 long. Best viewed full screen with the sound on:

February 2017 Water Level Chart Archived

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February 2017

I have archived the February 2017 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable feature of the February chart is how relatively stable the lake level was for the month, considering we received 1.44″ of precipitation, well below the average precipitation for February of 2.44″ (for Augusta). The lake level started the month at -37″ below the Normal High Water Mark (NHWM) and dropped to a low of -44.6″ on February 21st before ending the month 1/2″ higher than it started, at -36.5″ below the NHWM. The dam’s gate remained half open for the entire month, though the dam owner felt compelled to open it all the way on the first day of March, an action consistent with his observed behavior of trying to keep the lake level below the hole in the dam which is somewhere around -34″ below the top of the dam. There was no water flowing through the hole when I drove by the dam yesterday.

26 February 2017: Fire On Ice Winter Festival A Great Success!

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February 2017 Fire on Ice Festival. This is about as close as I came to getting a group photo. A few people had already left, a few were yet to arrive.

The Winter “Fire on Ice” Festival put on by the CLA Momentum Committee last Saturday was a great success. The weather was good, the companionship was even better and the S’mores were perfect. By this time of the winter it seems like everyone is suffering from cabin fever to some extent, and it was wonderful to be able to get outside and enjoy the day without having to be all bundled up against the cold. All told about 2 dozen adults and 10 kids showed up for the event. Most were existing Clary Lake Association members but there were some new faces in the crowd including Stephanie Chamberlain and her partner Steve Berry, who recently bought a house in Coopers Mills. Over the course of the afternoon I took a lot of photographs which I’ve added to the Winter 2017 Photo Gallery (duplicated below). Continue reading →

24 February 2017: Prospects for Tomorrow’s Festival: MUD!

OK so it’s not THAT muddy yet but nonetheless Mud Season is here. The field was pretty soft this morning when I drove down to the lake to drop off some firewood. We don’t want anyone getting stuck or the field getting rutted up so people should plan to park on the road and walk the short distance to the lake. We’ll have a few sleds available if you have firewood or something else to haul in. In any case, rubber boots are called for. The weather forecast for tomorrow is mild temperatures in the 40’s with a chance of showers the late afternoon which doesn’t sound too bad at all! The lake is still solidly ice-covered.

I’ll update this posting if I think of anything else to add.

21 February 2017: Winter Festival Update

Road plowed across field in preparation for the February 2017 Winter Festival.

Just a quick reminder/update email about our upcoming “Winter Festival” event being put on by the CLA Momentum Committee this coming Saturday, February 25th, from 12pm-3pm on Clary Lake. “Winter Festival” might imply a bigger event than what is actually likely to happen: we’ll have a small fire burning and will provide the makings for S’mores. You are also welcome to bring your own beverages (no alcohol please) and food to eat. The event is rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Check the weather report so you’ll know what sort of conditions you’ll be facing. We’re not expecting a huge turn out but do hope some of you will be able to find the time to stop by and enjoy the afternoon, the fire, and the company.

The event will be held on the south side of the lake off Route 126. Parking will be available in the field belonging to the Fergusson family where people for years have parked and gone swimming which is located just west of the Whitefield/Jefferson town line, about 1.7 miles from the Whitefield Superette (here is a Google Location Map to help you find it). Today David Knight plowed out a road down to the lake (pictured above). The wind had already swept a good sized area clear of snow right on the lake so there’s parking available.

We had planned on making an ice-carousel but with 1′ to 2′ of snow on the lake, that plan didn’t get out of design phase. We’ll try that next year. We’ll put out some traffic cones and a sign out beside the road. Contact me if you have any questions.

Hope to see you Saturday!

15 February 2017: Temporarily Halting Water Level Measurements

We ended up with 24″ of snow by the time the February 2017 “Valentine’s Day Blizzard” was over.

What with the 3′ and 4′ snow drifts between my house and the lake, 18″ of ice ON the lake, and even more snow coming tonight, I’ve decided to take a break from my daily water level measurements. When spring springs I’ll resume my daily readings again. After this next storm it sounds like we’re in for a stretch of warm weather, and that may open things up enough for me to resume, so perhaps this hiatus may be short lived. We’ll see.

I’ll continue to record precipitation and will try to get at least an approximate water level reading once in a while.

Clary Lake Association Winter Festival Announcement

The CLA Momentum Committee is pleased to announce a Winter Festival event for this coming February 25th, a Saturday, from 12 PM to 3 PM. OK, so maybe “Winter Festival” is a bit grandiose for what we have planned, but that’s what we’re calling it. A notice went out to our membership by email last night announcing the event. Members of the CLA as well as friends, family, and community members alike are invited to join us for a bonfire on the lake. Many of us have been cooped up all winter and an afternoon outside in the fresh air is likely just what the doctor ordered. The event is free, and the only item we’ve put on the menu is S’mores! We will provide the materials for S’mores, you make them and eat them. You are also welcome to bring your own beverages (no alcohol please) and food to eat. The event is rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Check the weather report so you’ll know what conditions you’ll be facing. Continue reading →

Ice Boating on Clary Lake, February 2017

I’ve never ice boated on a snow-covered lake before. It was quite the experience. And fast. Very fast. And cold. Very cold. The boat actually belongs to my friend Brian who clocked one of his runs on the ice boat at 42.8 kph = 26.6 mph. Felt like we were flying! He was also trying out his homemade surf skier whatchamacallit, made from a pair of skis and a windsurfer sail. I didn’t try it.

January 2017 Water Level Chart Archived

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January 2017

I have archived the January 2017 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable feature of the January chart is nothing, really. Kind of a ho-hum chart if you ask me. The lake level was at -48″ below the normal high water mark (HWM) at the start of the month and ended the month at -36.5″ or about a foot higher. The lake level was severely low for the whole summer and fall so seeing the lake rise marginally higher has been comforting. That said, the gate on the dam has been open about half way for the entire month, considerably more than the opening called for in the Water Level Order. Anyway you want look at it, the dam owner is still in clear violation of the Clary Lake water level order.

We received 2.84″ of precipitation during the month, some in the form of snow and some as rain. Average precipitation for January is 2.6″ so we’re starting the month a little ahead for a change.  We started this year in Severe drought (drought intensity D2) but we’re now in Moderate drought (drought intensity D1) however with the ground frozen, very little water is going to get into the water table until spring.

 

21 January 2016: Paul Kelley Introduces himself to the Whitefield Selectboard

Paul Kelley attended the regularly scheduled open (public) meeting of the Whitefield Selectboard on the evening of January 17th to discuss with them issues he has with some Town records, in particular certain Planning Board Meeting minutes. Reference may be had to the following letter which he presented to the Board in open session, which clearly explains his concerns, and what he would like to Town to do about them.

Here is the letter, presented without further comment:

Kelley Letter to Whitefield Selectboard January 17, 2017

It is not clear whether the Town intends to respond to this letter.