I agree David. I gave the reporter your name as well, and Ellis Percy’s too. He was absolutely certain the paper would run a story but with him investing so much time into it, I’m pretty sure they will.
Also, congratulations on being the first to register, and the first to leave a comment!
There have been a few inquiries about avatars… you know, the little picture that is supposed to identify you on your comments. As soon as I figure this out, I’ll post something.
OK, perhaps from the little picture beside my name you might surmise that I’ve got avatars figured out. I have. Here’s the scoop.
That little picture is a 40×40 pixel jpg. Once upon a time, when blogging was brand new, users wanted to associate a picture with their posts. They would upload their own little picture to each site that had the ability to attache an avatar to a post or comment, which in the beginning wasn’t too many sites. And of course they all had different requirements as to size, etc. As the number of sites grew, so grew the headaches associated with managing all the avatars. So “they” came up with a scheme to standardize on avatars and centrally manage them on a single site and then when a blog wanted someone’s avatar to associate with their post, they would request it using the user’s hashed-email address as a code. Simple. Elegant. So all the blogosphere started to adopt this scheme. It simplified coding and made life easier.
So the site that was setup to create, manage, and disseminate avatars is called Gravatar.com for “Globally Recognized Avatar.” And this is the first I ever heard of it.
So here’s the deal. It doesn’t cost any money and you can have as many avatars as you want associated with any number of email addresses. Go to http://www.gravatar.com and set up and account. They’ll mail you a link to log in with- you then choose a username and password, and upload a picture from your hard drive and they’ll resize it for you. And that’s it. Your new avatar will automatically show up on any blog site you comment on that uses Gravitars, assuming you give them the same right email address. You can also have multiple addresses by the way, and multiple avatars.
Now, the users of WordPress have written various hacks to get around the use of Gravatars that revert to the old original scheme of having users upload their own avatars to the site, and I may look into one of these schemes later but for now I’m going to implement the Gravatar scheme on the site.
I will probably put this comment in a page for future reference.
Jack Holland
May be possible that an article in the KJ will help to ” stir the pot”
Looks like the lake could be smooth for ice boaters & skaters with a re-freeze. I’m sure there will be some weak spots with all the runoff entering.
Well I think some public pressure on the Department can’t hurt Jack. They’re well aware of the growing frustration and impatience of the petitioners and other interested parties. As Thomas Gillette said recently to me in an email, “justice delayed is justice denied.” I strongly agree.
As for possible ice skating, I can’t wait! I got out just once back in December on a day that was so cold it made my teeth chatter. Here’s hoping.
Skip Poole
It will be so nice to see the water level back up to where it should be. Hopefully the story gets published soon. One can only imagine what this has done to the fish and wildlife…
I agree it will be good when the lake is back normal, but I expect with the petition process temporarily stalled, it will be a while. Processing will resume eventually. Thanks for taking an interest in Clary lake!
Thanks- I’ve been in touch with Chris off and on since the public hearing. Deb Sanderson had taken an interest in this matter but I haven’t heard from her in quite a while.
While there is no telling what DEP will come up with for a decision, there’s nothing really substantive in the motion to dismiss so I can’t imagine the Department will rule in favor of the motion. Nonetheless I will be sitting on pins and needles for the next few weeks 🙂
Sue McKeen
We are waiting, and luckily not holding our breath, up here in the Northeast corner of the marsh. At least the news of today is encouraging. Good job on keeping up the pressure – we’re not going away.
Margaret Fergusson
I want to add my thanks for the efforts of Senator Chris Johnson. He has taken his public service role most notably and seriously where the Clary Lake petition is concerned. During this ‘silent’, seemingly unproductive and frustrating period, he continues to pay attention and ask for accountability.
It goes without saying, though I’ll say it anyway, that George Fergusson is to be commended for his un-relenting, if not long-suffering efforts where our beloved lake is concerned. It’s these local acts of nobleness and steadfastness that can give us heart for the even larger work that we are called to do in our lives.
A couple of great guys!!
Claryview
To add a little perspective, the 360 deg panorama was heavily cropped for internet transmssion. The full-size image is 27859 x 5765 pixels or 116″ long by 24″ high!
Jack Holland sent me this update on the Proposed Soft Baits Legislation.
KeepAmericaFishing™ needs you to send another message today to the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife asking them to oppose the bill to ban soft baits! At the very least the Committee needs to establish a study process to determine the real facts regarding the impact of soft baits on fish.
The Committee will have a work session regarding the ban on soft baits on Tuesday, February 19th. At the end of the work session the bill could be recommended for passage, recommended to not pass, pass with modification or a study committee could be formed to further investigate the need for the bill.
This is fantastic news, even to the extent that we have no way of knowing ‘who is thinking what’ and how the outcome will look. After five months of waiting… without a word…things are moving. Ah, the ‘wheels of progress’….
Here’s a thought…let those of us who care about this issue, have some compassion for others who have plights with environmental issues and bullies…and yes, let’s have some compassion for ‘those wheels’….perhaps not turning to our liking or on our timetable…yet turning nonetheless!
Thank you, George, for all your dedication to this effort and another special thanks to Chris Johnson…really stepping on behalf of his constituency!
Quite a few interesting comments on the KJ web site!
Claryview
Getting the results of the Bathymetric survey will be most interesting!
It is unfortunate that that the lake is being drained in such an arbitray way. A more friendly and responsible approach would be to make temporary repairs of the hole in the dam and the allow the lake to raise to a more beneficial level, such as 18 to 30 inches below the top of the dam. This might lead to better relations between the dam owner, the lake shore owners, and other users of the lake.
Yes- I am particularly interested in seeing how they decided to model the 300+ acres in the northwest end of the lake, and how the new model changes the minimum flows and maximum annual fluctuation. Recall that the meadows at either end of the lake were completely drained at the time of the survey- and remain completely drained today.
Kelley has given no indication that he’s the least bit interested in better relations so I don’t expect Kelley to repair the dam until forced to do so in order to comply with a Water Level Order. Until then, based on previous behavior I expect Kelley’s plan is to keep the lake low enough such that any foreseeable rain event will not result in the water level rising up to or above the hole in the dam, which is somewhere around 36″ below the top of the dam. A water level management plan based on this criteria is inconsistent with the requirements of the wetlands and wildlife habitat, and the needs of the general public. So I think we can look forward to unreasonably low water levels until the Department issues a water level order which should be sometime this coming summer. Then we’ll see what happens.
Sue McKeen
That is quite a picture. I’m bringing my beef cattle out tomorrow to graze.
Well it appears the comet was too faint to see tonight until the sun was far enough below the horizon and by that time it was too low in the sky to pick out. Will try again tomorrow, perhaps from a different location. On the 12th it will be right beside the crescent moon and will be (relatively) easy to spot.
Well we won’t be seeing the comet tonight with the rain storm we’re expecting. Hopefully the weather will clear later this week. I think the comet is moving away quickly so if we can’t catch a glimpse in the next 3-4 days it will be too late.
Margaret Fergusson
George, as always, thank you for keeping us informed. Your ‘natural’ and acquired expertise on all the matters concerning our much loved lake is beyond impressive; and your steadfast, if not ‘religious’ machinations around measurements, observations, photographs and commentary are absolutely remarkable. I know I speak for everyone who cares about this lake…about the environment…about our way of life here on the lake, when I say a most sincere thank you. The community is most fortunate to have you as a partner, and so am I!! Stuart ‘is’ quite impressed too!
Thanks for posting that David. I’ve become convinced that a lot of the “missing water” in our lake level fluctuation calculations can be accounted for by inflow from springs.
I’ve got 3 fairly productive springs right adjacent to my shoreline, one of which has been open since mid-January. It has made making water level measurements easier than it was shoveling snow and chopping a hole in the ice. Here are links to pictures of the spring holes:
Some of you will remember me writing last fall about outflow rates and orifice diameters and such and complaining that for all the water flowing out through the open gate, the lake wasn’t falling fast enough by a factor of almost 2. You can review that discussion in the 2012 News page for November and December.
Well in a classic example of mission-creep, what started out as a “rudimentary, non-automated mechanism” has turned into an fully automated web cam system which updates with a new image every 2 minutes. I happened to find some functional free software and thought “what the heck.” The image out my office window is pleasant enough but looking northeast through the trees, it doesn’t really show much of the lake; you can make out some of the houses and camps over on the Duncan Road.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for a good wireless web cam that I can mount down on the shore.
After the last snow storm I spotted open water over on the other side of the lake, by the end of the Duncan road. Doug Kinney confirms there has been a strip of open water there for a while that keeps getting bigger. Springs might contribute to this phenomena but I think it is more but it is more likely an effect of the flow of water towards the outlet speeding up a little and becoming more turbulent when it passes over the shallows off the point. This is due to the so-called “venturi effect”, a phenomena usually associated with automobile carburetors and pipes but it also applies to the laminar flow of water around obstructions in streams, rivers, and ponds. Duncan point both extends out into the lake a ways and the water is quite shallow off the point- both are in effect obstructions to the water as flows from the primary inlet by Route 126 towards the outlet; it has to pass by and flow around the point and over that shallow rocky bottom. This would cause a speed up of the flow of water and introduce turbulence- both of which would tend to prevent the formation of ice, or hasten it’s melting.
I’m recovering from a cold. When I’m better I want to go over and measure the velocity of the water, and take some pictures. Because I can.
It was a nice enough day and I felt well enough to take a quick drive over to visit with Doug Kinney briefly, and check out the open water. There is indeed quite a bit of open water extending from well around the point into the cove over by Brent Duncan’s place. I made this hasty panorama photograph:
This shoreline also has the benefit of the sun beating in on it, being protected on the north by trees. This would also contribute to early melting, though I think other factors mentioned above play a larger role. On my side of the lake, we’re always the last to go out with ice often lingering several days after it’s cleared of the rest of the lake.
More impressed with this Photo Gallery system as I get to understand it. Very powerful set of functions, but somewhat poorly documented. Programmers shouldn’t write documentation 🙂
Subscribers to the site will soon be able to upload picture with descriptions. They’ll initially be sequestered until I get a chance to check them out. You can test this feature if you want on the Test Gallery page.
The following comments were posted on the Association’s Facebook page- I think they’re right on:
“I think that if Mr. Duncan and similarly inconvenienced landowners were compensated appropriately for their (involuntary) stewardship, that pill would be a lot easier to swallow. Does it benefit the greater society to maintain and preserve wetlands, even though it means the individual landowner can no longer use the land they own as they wish? Yes. Is it a pain in the ass to that landowner? Yes. Should that landowner be somehow compensated? Yes. Will that compensation, properly administered, make it a badge of honor for a landowner to steward lands that benefit the common good with no direct economic benefit to the direct owner? Hopefully.
This is not actually a difficult problem to solve, philosophically — tax abatement or rebate, some sort of land trust dividend to owners of land held to be sacrosanct, some form of direct or indirect compensation… the only issue is the source of funds and the will to disburse them.”
Sue McKeen
I just read the LCN interview w/Butch Duncan. I’m a little baffled by his reference to jobs in relation to the water level. What jobs is he referring to? Also to set the record straight. I certainly am not concerned about smell, dock placement or any other thing except for the sadness I feel every time I look out on the marsh. Particularly this time of the year when the water used to sparkle and the geese and ducks would land in the marsh on their way back home. I think most of us on the lake feel this same sadness – and frankly I’m angry too.
Sue- I’ve said about all I intend to say about this. He thinks we need more farm land? I think we need more fish!
I sent off a letter to the editor today that I assume will appear in this week’s paper. I’m moving on. Nice to have you comment.
Dave K
Hi George. Gayle and I noted,our end (east) was about 70% covered at 4pm April 1st. By 6:30 it was completly gone. (Probably the eastery wind pushed it to your end) We are calling that “Ice-Out Day 2013”. The ice is out. Let’s go boating!!!! ————-“April Fools!!”
I’ve still got a good sized flow snug up against my shore. After last year’s horrible embarrassment of my mis-calling the ice out date… never again. David Hodsdon makes the official call! 🙂
I, for one, certainly hope that there is no stay issued on the water level petition proceedings. It’s been over seven months since the public hearing was held…..far too long as it is!
Gotta say I agree Mary. The main reason cited why they might stay the water level petition proceedings was to give the dam owner time to find parties interested in taking over the dam. I think that’s a VERY SHORT LIST with the Clary Lake Association already right at the top.
Claryview
I am in complete agreement with the consensus that the ice has gone out completely on April 3, 2013. We are now free to roam all around the lake, if we can find a way to put our boats in!!!
David
OK, so it’s going to be a few days before I send in my comments as I’ve decided to rethink how to handle a few things. Stay tuned.
Claryview
Looks like the lake level recommendations are headed in the right direction to preserve the sensitive wildlife habitat and enjoyment of the lake for all!
Yes David! The initial minimum flows recommendation specified a maximum draw down of 2.7′ so going to 2′ is a move in the right direction. But I’m a little confused as to how they arrived at it given what I know of Chapter 587 and the issues that exist with the new bathymetric survey.
I also make note of the statement:
“Recommended within basin water levels are protective for the maintenance of suitable Water quality, resident fish and Wildlife habitat, and prevention of shoreline erosion. However, it is quite apparent that significant dewaterlng of valuable Wetland habitat will result in the vicinity of the outlet stream, above the dam.”
So it appears the 2′ refers to water levels within the BASIN of Clary Lake and they acknowledge that at that level of draw down, significant dewatering of wetlands will occur. I’m confused.
Sigh. The comment system on KJonline is broken. Nobody has commented. I can’t comment.
sviti789
George, can you explain the Aug 1st date? Wasn’t the petition recently filed? If it’s not complete according to DEP I’m confused again about the date. Thanks.
Also, according to the statute, the 60 days starts counting from when the notice of intent to file the petition is given, not when the petition is actually accepted by the Department as complete. This is perhaps an oversight by the Legislature.
Steve Viti
Sept 1st seems like a long way off. Perhaps it’ll be 2014 before there’s enough water to float my boat and warrant putting in my dock? I know this stuff takes time but I had my hopes up for a summer closer to the way I’ve known it for the past 20 years.
Steve- there is a reason for the long time line outlined in the statutes, but there is no reason to believe that the water level petition will be put on hold for the duration. On the contrary I think the Department intends to process them concurrently to the greatest extent possible so more pressure will come to bear on Kelley to get rid of the dam as the water level petition proceeds. Also, I think the Department will try and expedite Kelley’s petition processing as much as they can. Kelley has some discretion in the scheduling of things and I don’t doubt for a second he will try and drag things out as much as the law will allow regardless of whether he’s earnestly trying to find a new owner for the dam, or merely stalling for time.
The Department is well aware of the fact that the Clary Lake Association has made offers on the dam and is still interested in owning it and I think they will take a dim view on Kelley’s wasting everyone’s time while availing himself of every opportunity afforded him by the statues to “look for a new owner” when there is one ready, willing, and available to take over the dam. They are also well aware of the fact that Pleasant Pond Mill LLC does not own the flowage rights. Will the Department rule that Aquafortis Associates must be made part of the petition or will they simply throw the petition out? I anxiously await their ruling on this.
So for now I will give Kelley the benefit of the doubt and play along with this latest dog and pony show he’s orchestrating. Despite his assurances to me personally, I don’t think he’s got any real intention of selling the dam to anyone for the cost of preparing and recording a deed. There has been no discharge of the mortgage recorded at the Lincoln County Registry of Deeds so the assumption is he still owes Art Enos money for the dam and probably a good deal of money at that. He’s either got to get enough for the dam to pay off the note or he really can’t afford to sell it.
HI was called into to assess the hydro potential of the site by Charlie Baeder., who was then the director of the Sheepscot river trust about 2 years ago. Charlie had the bright idea of acquiring the hydro power rights and using their leverage as a non-profit, to acquire grants to hydro seal the dam, repair the fore-bay, build a naturalistic fish way, and divert a port of the spillover into a small hydro generator with power going into the grid, unless they could org. a small rural electric coop. and sell the power to it. Sheepscot got the area on the other side of the dam designated as a protected salmon habitat.
The owners were two developers from Boston who tried to get area rezoned so they could restore the mill into a mixed business/residential complex, and preserve the orig. mill house. I heard they paid $40k for the dam 🙂
When I visited the site, two feet of water was overflowing the granite block dam; and spurting through cracks about 10’….pretty spectacular, but the dam’s apparently been like that for a long time, and hadn’t moved off its base–note FEMA assessment.
Obviously, you know the rest; Charlie’s solution was rejected in favor of legal appeals which they apparently lost. Charlie now runs the Penobscot River watershed association and perhaps you should contact him for his view of it.
My assessment was written up and basically, they stored up a lot of water in the fore-bay over night and weekend and ran a lot of it though a 3′ pipe down to the generator house with twin 67 KW GE(?) generators. Rumor has it they really drop the level of the Pond during dry periods. I roughly figured they could run a 10 KW power plant, and still have enough water for a small fish-way. This would have to be calculated again, esp. with the DEP estimates of flowage at diff. times of the year.
A sluice and pelton turbine would run about $5k(informed guess)
Hi Frank. Thanks for the information. The two Boston businessmen you referred to paid more like $60,000 for the dam making it an even more stupid investment, if that is possible. They now refer to the dam in correspondence as the “breached dam which formerly impounded Clary Lake (Pleasant Pond)”.
There is incidentally zero interest in a fish ladder for Clary Lake. The DMR periodically stocks Clary with Alewives which spawn and make their way back into the Sheepscot River, enhancing their population but they’ve never had natural access to Clary Lake, ever and we see no reason for them to start now. Clary will not support trout or salmon. So why a fish ladder?
However, I see no reason why the owners of the mill building and property below the dam couldn’t repair their mill pond dam so they could store up water leaving the lake (which at certain times of the year can be considerable) and generate electricity till the cows come home. But it appears they’re way beyond thinking about doing anything that sensible.
Charlie Baeder brought into the fishway into the discussion, not me. I noted access—a well worn path and parking, for fishermen up from the dam so I assume they are fishing for only bass or brown trout or???
A fishway is a nice selling point for any presentation; finding a way to pay for it and annual maintenance is another matter.
That is a pretty steep drop from dam down to Sheepscot.. 75- 100′ making migration iffy. You could do eels; since they will migrate over grass or up a garden hose. Plant a lawn and call it an eel path?? and charge to take elvers out of the pond? Building a revenue producing fishery might be one means to the end of stabilizing the level of the pond and rebuilding the dam.
Maine’s hydrology varies enormously. The outfall to Cobbo. has 11 gates; at times all 11 are open; there is a ratio of 100:1 in flow rates.
Unless you can plan for a constant flow; the solution is to bank inexpensive generators…..and then gate water to each one as flow increases.
Didn’t know the dam breached….perhaps we can meet and go over the site again….Mid May, when I get back? How far down did the lake level go?
There is value in the Lignum Vita drive wheels under the mill building…if they are still there. Several Wooden bearing companies have contacted me re purchasing similar wheels. Turbines lining the field, not so much…..
We reached the default limit on nested comments (5) prompting me to increase it to 6 so I could leave you a comment! Perhaps we should continue this discussion via email. My email address is gsfergusson@clarylake.org
The dam “breach” is a hole about 12″ in diameter in the central cement “plug” in the middle of the dam, located about 36″ below the top of the dam so saying the dam is “breached” is a bit of a misnomer. The dam is still impounding water though the dam owner more or keeps the gate wide open in an attempt to keep the water level below about 40″ so as not to let water course through the hole, making it worse.
The lowest the lake has gotten was a year ago mid-April when it hit -62.5″ below the top of the dam. I think it can realistically drop as low as 6′ below the top of the dam.
I look forward to talking with you when you get back from wherever you are.
Colin Caissie
The latest episode of the not-so-popular “The Paul Kelley Show”.
The overall reaction to this latest LCN article has been negative, judging from remarks, public and private. Mr Kelley is not generating a lot of goodwill with his antics.
Nope. I spoke to Paul Koenig earlier in the week, he thought it would be in todays paper. Musta been bounced for all the marathon bomber coverage. Probably be in tomorrow’s paper.
Colin Caissie
Would you put a full size image of the leo & george sailing photo up on the site?
I’ll see what I can find! I was sailing the boat, Someone else took it and sent it to me.
Colin Caissie
I read through the baroque letter from Kelly from O’Neal @ PretiFlaherty. So there’s objection based in the idea that the info generated by the Bathymetric Survey is invalid because the “hearing and record” are closed.
We can see that Paul Kelley’s world is closing around his neck when he’s resorting to “arguing about the argument”. This rewsembles the Global Climate Change issue where deniers (those whose corporate interests are in jeopardy) are incapable of refuting the science, and are fighting a controversy battle that only delays and damages the real world.
I guess this is what the intellectual mind is capable of….. “proving” things one way or another, and remaining ignorant of the essence of the matter. His arguments completely ignore what this is actually about, and instead suggest where Mr. Kelley’s interests and motives are.
Most importantly, we are reminded of what is important regarding the health of our lake, and to remember that Mr. Kelley is “pouring from the empty into the void”. Sadly, In this crazy world, he could succeed if he’s “clever” enough.
Well I found the original and it’s HUGE! 2048 x 3072 pixels! I had to scale it down just to get it to fit on the screen. I uploaded another version to the User Uploads album.
Well thank you Colin for producing the first and likely the only serious comment on this matter. I have sat down to try several times but have been unable to write about it. Kelley’s “pouring from the empty into the void” leaves me with a head ache and I’m sure I’m not alone.
But I disagree on the possible outcome of his strategy. The only thing Kelley will succeed at doing is further alienating himself which is hard to believe considering how far down that road he’s already traveled.
When you can’t dispute the facts, you attack the process, the rules, the law. You claim it’s unfair, biased. Kelley has never been able to dispute the facts in this case and he certainly hasn’t started now with this rambling, incomprehensible diatribe. Ravaged ground in deed.
mafergusson
My dear sweet sage and scientist of a husband:
Well, I guess it’s accurate to say ‘you honor me’! I agree…it’s a great name for a boat (outside of any connection to me) in that it’s rather ‘cutsie’ and boat naming tends to travel in those sorts of channels… though not appropriate for a woman of my caliber (only kidding). Only my dear mother, sister Pat and a few other family members call me by that name. Everyone else chooses from the smorgasbord of labels as outlined in my email signature line. OK…enough of this…it’s not all that interesting! In any case, your choice in naming our boat does make me smile…and anything to remove the frown which sets in on my already wrinkling face, where Paul K is concerned face…is so welcomed. xo
mafergusson
p.s. too many faces! Except one more…Mr. K is going to have a ‘concerned face’ when he finally has to ‘FACE THE MUSIC’ and he’ll find it liquid and loud — as in water flowing freely and habitats restored…and the sound of the turtle shall be heard throughout the land — to name just one!
I called Howard today and chided him for not letting me know about his letter to the editor. He said he’d do better next time. He’s considering writing an article about the impact of this draw down on Clary Lake. Some of you may recall Howard speaking at the Clary Lake Association annual meeting last summer.
I’d like to express thanks to Howard for his deep caring for the natural environment around my home…and the homes of all of us who call the shores of Clary Lake our natural back or front yard gift…not ours for the taking, ours for the caring, ours for the stewardship that is necessary. In addition, there are scores of people who travel from afar to enjoy the beauty of this area. Where are the stewards? We are here. Where is our state agency to help us in this endeavor? I hope and trust that they are in the wings, gearing up for a command performance and soon to take center stage and GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! It is heartbreaking to read that in Howard’s opinion, four marshes are ‘dead’. I don’t know why this is taking so long. I do know that selfish and ill-perceived measures have been underway to stall and to steal….to stall the saving of our sacred wildlife…to steal a healthy habitat from its residents — “all creatures great and small”. The humans need to step down AND STEP UP!
Thank you for that Margaret. You summed up the sadness and dismay that we’re all feeling quite nicely. I have to trust that the State WILL do the right thing and will not disappoint. It is taking a long time. Too long. I don’t blame the State, or the system, I blame Paul Kelley.
Thanks to Jack Holland for bringing this to my attention. We need all the publicity we can get!
Sue McKeen
Well said, George and Margaret. Hope all those wildlife conservationists are following this travesty – really, where is the public outcry, besides from us???
“15 July 2008 We have baby loons this year! Tim Harkins sent me a photograph taken yesterday, 14 July 2008, showing 2 baby loon chicks out for a swim with their parents. This is really exciting! I don’t remember the last time we had loons chicks on the lake, we’ve been blessed. Life is hard for loon chicks and their survival is anything but guaranteed. Let’s hope they survive. You can help by leaving them alone and giving the family a wide berth if you encounter them on the lake!”
What are the correct “credentials” to be considered an expert in analyzing a bathymethic survey? I would expect that a land surveyor would be one of those experts. Certainly not a wildlife biologist, as is indicated by the objectioner in a footnote.
A Professional Land Surveyor is quite qualified to address a bathymetric survey. It’s got everything to do with surveying and nothing to do with wildlife biology. Kelley just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Steve Viti
Hey George,
Is there any way you leave Mr Kelly’s photo out of any new posts? At this point just his image is enough to put a damper on the start of my day.
Maybe he’s trying to get a wide operating window so that he can keep the lake at an intolerably low level which would (theoretically) allow him to shake down the shorefront property owners for an annuity to operate at a higher level.
I’m sure Paul Kelley would love to have a “wide operating window” to play with. It ain’t gonna happen and speculation that this kind of thing might happen is not particularly helpful dialogue! The DEP will not give the dam owner a wide operating window nor will the dam owner have any discretion to “negotiate” with the lake shore owners over the water level once the order has been placed. Violations of a water level order must be taken seriously: DEP can seek a court order stopping the violations and imposing fines of up to $10,000 a day. DEP also has the authority to enter onto the dam property to carry out the terms of a water level order.
In HIS perfect world, Kelley would like to have the water level set low enough so that he can capture ALL the runoff from any conceivable rain event without any of it over topping the dam. He would then release the water at a constant rate of 55 cubic feet per second so as not to overburden his mill pond dam. The water level required to meet this purpose would be about 4′ below the top of the dam. Anyone who thinks the Department might come up with a water level of 4′ below the top of the dam must be smoking crack. In MY perfect world, Paul Kelley would never have found his way to Whitefield in the first place.
The Department’s Chapter 587 rules for deriving in-stream flows and lake and pond water levels actually specify a maximum annual fluctuation of 2.0′ for any Class GPA (Great Pond Act) water in Maine and a determination based on this figure (the so-called Standard Allowable Alteration Method) is deemed to be fully supportive of all State water quality standards and uses and the Department is well within its rights to choose this method for determining water level variation in Class GPA waters, with no further determination by the Department being required. In fact, their most recent Clary Lake Assessment specifies a 2.0 foot range of water level fluctuations. This is no accident and gives those of us with an understanding of the rules a solid insight into what to expect from the Department in the way of a water level order for Clary Lake.
Sample water level orders I have looked at specify a water level regime that leaves little to the imagination. Here’s the Water Level Order for China Lake which specifies a range from +0.5′ to -1.5″ (2′ overall) over the course of the year. Hardly what I’d call a “wide operating window.” And Gee. There’s that 2.0′ maximum annual fluctuation again. We know where that comes from now don’t we 🙂
The absolute maximum “operating window” they could possibly come up with is between 0′ and 2′ below the top of the dam and frankly, I could live with that. I wouldn’t like it, but I could live with it. But remember, this 2.0′ maximum annual fluctuation figure and the associated minimum flows IS NOT THE WATER LEVEL REGIME. These figures are parameters for a discretionary draw down of the impoundment for a specific purpose and the dam owner better hope he knows what he’s doing because they run the risk of incurring huge fines if they miscalculate and draw the lake down the allowed amount and then can’t maintain the flows without further draining the lake. The actual water level order the Department comes up with will describe a water level regime. We don’t know what this will be. We do know what it won’t be: it won’t be anything Paul Kelley can live with. I can guarantee you that.
Actually that’s not the only question I have and it’s not even my first one. That would be “Will the DEP really let Pleasant Pond Mill LLC continue this petition without putting the flowage rights on the table?“
Claryview
The meeting was most informative. It appears that Paul Kelley (Pleasant Pond Mill LLC) has managed to make things so complicated, that actually selling or transferring ownership of the dam is quite problematical. However, a few changes could make things much more favorable. So it will be interesting to see what develops in the next few weeks.
Yes David- Kelley has painted himself into a corner from which there is no easy escape and I expect the situation for him will get worse, not better as time passes.
I look forward to the day when we have nothing better to talk about than pretty pictures of Clary Lake. Sadly, it’s going to be a while.
Colin Caissie
Nice graph. The significance is ominous, tho. All that devastation and ugliness I’ve seen out in the marshes and on our shorelines. All the inconveniences and extra costs we are facing.
All because some developer sniffed a business opportunity but was too stupid to realize that it was not a business opportunity…. it was part of our town and our lives and was part of a living ecosystem. So he bought a pig in a poke, bungled this project, and is so caught up in himself that he can’t see how ignorant and foolish he looks, how futile his ambitions, and how much a loser he is. Skip the personal pageant, Paul, and get out of our town.
Well, one way or another, we’ll be rid of this nuisance, and we’ll have a normal water level. I expect the 2014 lake graph will be a much flatter, smoother, and healthier level.
No fallout on the Service List from Colin Caissie’s from-the-heart posting to same, not that I expected there would be any. I thought I heard a few twitters of laughter, and a nervous cough from somewhere out in Augusta but that was it.
Margaret Fergusson
Bravo Colin. There are no kind words to describe this man. This has to end. It would be quite gratifying if the DEP finally dealt with him, as he deserves……STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS and ‘banished from his kingdom’. Thank you for calling him what he is!
I have prepared my own short but sweet response to Kelley’s request which I will mail to the Service List first thing in the morning. I’ll post it here shortly thereafter. It was a waste of time writing it because there is no chance that Kelley’s request will be granted. Not a chance.
REYoung
From the grapevine the word is that a lot of folks are thinking of individual lawsuits against a “stupid developer” for several different problems that have come from the lack of resolving this issue….some with the possibility of disastrous results. Enough said…..let’s leave the “Ace” in the hole.
What’s the likelihood a breached dam, at Hurricane Irene’s hand (which I remember as more of a big blow), would be more of someone else’s responsibility than our poor, problematic mr. kelly?
If you really want to walk away, just go and leave us to repair the damn and rid ourselves of your memory and two years of heartache.
Would that he could Steve. He’s got a little problem called a mortgage… and until he can get out from under that, and deliver the dam with the flowage rights, he’s stuck with it. Which is OK with me. The State will place a water level order on it this summer, and the clock will start ticking.
That said, I share your frustration. But I do see an end to this fiasco, sooner rather than later.
I’ve had a chance to read Kelley’s second document; it is just a rehash of an old faulty argument he tried to make at the public hearing. I am prepared to refute it soundly. When attempting to change reality to suit one’s purpose, it helps to know what you’re talking about. In his attempt to define the elevation of the top of the dam, Kelley only succeeds in demonstrating his ignorance of matters on which I am an expert. He’s not going to get anywhere with this argument.
Colin Caissie
It’s probable that the DEP grants Kelley these extensions to avoid further inevitable “Kellyitis” (inflammation of useless paperwork hassles).
Would you follow up on the suggestion that I join the “Beyond Kelley” group regarding the repairs and future maintenance of the dam? I’ve done some sketches and calcs on how to raise the lake level, protect Mr. Kelley’s downstream bungle, and provide a clear opportunity to repair the dam. Obviously, real solutions, not paper ones, are needed. I promise to focus on the solution, not get caught up in the dam owner’s blatant negligence and ignorance.
It’s time that we all go “Beyond Kelley”, as his future is certainly one of failure and losing the property. It’s clear that he’s not concerned with the lake level or the repair of the dam, only his desperate staged farce. Since his show stinks, let’s move on.
I will Colin. I will probably set up a list address to handle emails. Sadly, rather than spending time addressing important things lately, I’ve found myself putting out fires that Kelley keeps igniting, no doubt with that specific intent. But that is the nature of these proceedings. In a way, having the DEP grant Kelley his 30 day extension to comment gives us all a welcome reprieve. We’ll make good use of the time.
As for Kelley’s request to reopen the public hearing, Procedural Order #5 clearly specified the circumstances under which such a request would be considered. I do not believe Kelley has met the requirements and I will be filing a response to his request asking the Department to deny it.
If you can believe what Kelley has been saying, his so-called “downstream bungle” is now Richard Smith’s “downstream bungle” and Mr. Smith has not been heard from. It appears that these two former partners have divvied up the property and Kelley ended up with only the dam (with no flowage rights) and Smith got everything else. I wonder how that happened? In any case, it would appear now that Kelley is continuing to fight our petition on the one hand and pursue his own petition for release from dam ownership on the other out of sheer stubborn cussedness.
And I agree: Kelley faces certain failure with the only question being how long before it is visited upon him, and at what cost. All too soon and too much from his point of view, not soon enough from mine.
Colin Caissie
Paul will have to get back together with Richard Smith of Aquafortis LLC to retrieve the flowage rights before he can relieve himself of the dam? That’s a pretty simple step. Is that what the Town of Whitefield is looking into next?
Colin, I wouldn’t characterize anything involving Paul Kelley as “pretty simple.” On the contrary, Kelley’s capacity to complicate and confuse situations is astonishing. Right now I think the Town is just trying to get a handle on the legal implications of owning the dam without also owning the flowage rights. It doesn’t look good: as it stands now their perspective is that flowage rights belong with the dam and if you own the dam you also need the flowage rights to legally operate it. I don’t know if anyone is planning to talk to Richard Smith. I’m not. Probably somebody should, he seems to hold the key to unraveling this mess.
As I understand it, the DEP has issued Kelley an ultimatum: Deliver proof by the 13th of May that Pleasant Pond Mill LLC has sufficient right, title, and interest in the dam including the flowage rights or they’ll be returning his petition. So I think right now the Towns (Jefferson and Whitefield) are just sitting tight until next week to see what happens. Even if the State dismisses Kelley’s petition, there’s no reason why he can’t continue to try and schmooze the town into buying his dam but the statutory requirement that the Towns hold public hearings and play ball with Kelley will be gone.
One conclusion we can reach from that book “The Water Power of Maine” is that in 1869, there was no dam on the pond. Pleasant Pond only had the potential of storing 4′ to 6′ of water, it wasn’t actually storing it. In the late 1700s there was a dam on the river side of the road, still visible today but I’d always thought there was a dam on the pond in the 1800s before Henry Clary came along in 1890-something but now I’m not too sure. The existing dam on Clary Lake may well be the first dam ever built on the pond.
Sue McKeen
Thanks for the pictures George. It is hard to believe it can get lower since I’m only seeing a mud puddle from the road at the dam. Something to be proud of for the dam owner, and to what end?
Baxter Gillette
Next the hole will wash out and breach one dark night.
Wandered down to the shore this morning to take in the sunrise and noticed that the lake has stopped falling and in fact appears to have started to rise again. That is a welcome change.
Baxter
Funny how closing the gate does that!
Colin Caissie
Well, the first responsible act I’ve heard of from our favorite Eco-terrorist.
Colin
Colin Caissie
I suppose “costs of ownership” includes his legal fees for fighting a losing battle. And his time spent composing letters, and driving to meetings, etc.
Good luck.
C
mgingrowsh
Hopefully DEP now can turn their full attention to the lake level petition!
I can see my comment about my comments disappearing, but I also had commented on this post on Friday (I said yippee! or something to that effect), but I don’t see that comment here anymore.
I dunno Mary. I get emails of all comments (and I keep most of them) and I don’t find one matching that description. That said, I vaguely remember such a comment.. You should just say “Yippee” again and we’ll try and keep track of it.
Eve Kinney
If this man doesn’t have a black heart I don’t know who does!! How can anyone not care about nature and not enjoy the beauty of what we have to preserve. Now again, the loons don’t stand a chance with such evil lurking. I do believe in Karma and believe me his is long over due!!
I don’t know what to say Eve. For someone who claims to be only interested in getting out from under his dam liability, he’s sure going about it wrong and that includes doing everything he can to piss off and alienate the very people who want to buy his dam.
mgingrowsh
Thank-you, Whitefield selectmen!!! A great follow up would be for Senator Johnson and rep. Sanderson to let Aho know that they are concerned about the timeliness of this process as well.
A timely and appropriate response on the part of Whitefield’s Selectmen. I’m not at all impressed with the response of the Jefferson Selectmen to this crisis. They unceremoniously washed their hands of the Clary Lake dam issue at their public meeting last week and aren’t looking back. Their perspective is short sighted.
Well he talked at length about the early history of the dam and how it’s basically in good shape but just needs some repairs. Talked about how the availability of water close to his house allowed the fire department to save his house when his barn caught on fire some years ago. His father used to own the mill property and dam and he talked about how Chester Boynton lost it during the bank holiday in 1933. Albert was born in the little red house on the dam. When he went to sit down, people clapped.
Colin Caissie
Well, at least Kelley has been jolted from his trance, and is actually beginning to talk about dam repair. Is it just more talk, though? Probably. His words are just so devoid of substance.
It’s just more talk Colin. The request from the Association for permission to get an engineering assessment of the dam required a “yes” or “no” answer. We’ve received neither. Kelley instead is using our request as an opportunity to manipulate the outcome. Not interested.
Colin Caissie
His tone of voice is becoming strident. Soon he will be shrieking.
C.
Claryview
CORRECTION to PPM reply to Fergusson objection to extension request
In a footnote to the reply, Paul Kelley accuses George Fergusson of cancelling my efforts to see if PPM would allow CLA to sponsor an engineering study of the dam with the goal to participate in repair of the dam (as any good neighbor would). THIS IS NOT TRUE. In fact, the reason I terminated the discussion was; (1) the discussion to date was preliminary, LIMITED to doing an engineering study of the dam, and had not reached a level where it was appropriate to get CLA involved; (2) Paul Kelly in his request for extension on May 30, 2013 included me as an “intervener” which was clearly out of bounds of our discussion. Because he did that without my knowledge or permission, I decided to end any discussions with him until after the current dam issues are settled.
David Hodsdon
Paul Kelley was a fool to think he could get away with using his talks with you as an excuse for asking for a delay in the processing of the water level petition. Did he forget that you are a petition signer?
Will someone please tell me what kinds of d___s this guy is on. I want to have the name next time I go to the doctor, have it added to my permanent records to not administer this stuff to me at any point…ever. Sheesh!
Baxter
He’s creating multiple bases for extending the process. He’s trying to show bias in the DEQ, deprevation of representation by the DEQ, incompetence of the DEQ– whatever it takes to extend the timeline. He will soon request, in light of the history, that new people be assigned from the department as he tries to perfect a breach order before a water level order. Wouldn’t be surprised if the lawyers reappear and formal legal actions are launched to slow the process.
I agree that’s his plan Baxter. However, he’ll not get a breach order.
wbbassman
Mr. Kelley is acting like a little boy who has the only ball and now wants to choose who to play with. Give it up you made a bad business decision in buying the property years ago. Get out and stop making the people and wildlife suffer because of your actions.
Thank you
Wayne B. longtime fisherman on Clary until recently.
I’ve got a little more information. Ed was born May 19, 1923, making him 90 years old. There will be no funeral but there will be a celebration of his life held at his home in Baton Rouge LA on June 30th at 4:00 p.m. There will be an obituary appearing in Baton Rouge papers this week, and the Lincoln County News next week. I’ll post it here as well.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, LA, St. Giles Episcopal Church in Jefferson, Maine, or the Clary Lake Association, PO Box 127, Whitefield, ME 04353. I’ll be setting up a donations page in Ed’s memory soon.
I find Mr. Kelley’s concern for the habitat “and finally, wiping out an entire endangered species habitat:” laughable considering the damage he has done to the surrounding wetlands by lowering Clary Lake water level to the point of draining them
.
I agree Ann, his misplaced concerns are at best disingenuous.
Claryview
For those who are interested in the use of words and word definitions: A “breach” (noun) is a hole in a wall or dam. If a dam is “breached” (verb) than a large opening is created such that the dam no longer holds ANY water back from the water body above the dam. The Clary lake Dam has a breach, but is clearly in no way breached!
Yes, Tony was quite clear- a “breached dam” is one that no longer holds any water. I wish he’d put that in writing.
david chase
Thanks for your interesting posts George….
in reminiscing the other day ,Betty and I were remembering some of the now colorful reminders of why no one would want to own the rights to the Clary mill dam.
In our half century history of ownership and use of property on our beloved Clary lake, we recalled some of the animated and colorful arguments about how the lake level should be managed.
The damn dam owners were accused of loon abortion, beach disappearance, promoting boating hazards and flooding of potential farmland.
In the fall some wanted the lake Lowered to prevent ice damage, others demanded the water level raised to afford them a truck driveway from their shore to their ice traps.
In recent years the bass fishing cartel went so far as to propose posting the lake fish as being poisoned by mercury, so that people would not eat the game
fish – allowing them to get to trophy size.
one cottage owner wanted the lake level to be as high as it was in his youth when he could launch his boat from his boat directly from his boathouse without having to step on land.
Possibly we have reached the age when history should be forgotten, or at least conveniently and temporarily ignored.
Onward, forward.
yours in conservation.
David
the rememberer…
david chase
That thud I just heard was Henry clary , rolling over.
The Clary Lake Association wants to own the dam David and one of these days it will be ours. Having a DEP water level order on it that dictates a water level regime will take the fun out of water level management and won’t leave people with much to complain about. Then we can all just get on with enjoying the lake in whatever way we choose.
If Henry Clary is rolling over in his grave it is no doubt because of the way Kelley and Smith have botched their plans to breath new life into the mill he built.
Had a nice visit with the folks from Branch Pond Association. Most of the meeting was spent talking about the upcoming Branch Pond water level petition public hearing- who is going to testify, what they’re going to say, etc. There are a LOT of similarities between Branch Pond and Clary Lake it turns out. Beautiful little pond.
Well I finished reading Kelley’s closing brief. It was agony. Most of his arguments have been raised already, and dismissed and the rest, as far as I’m concerned, are irrelevant to the determination of a water level.
Colin Caissie
Well,Ii don’t have the time to read through it yet either, but in the first few pages we see that Kelley again is attempting slick hollow wording to show that everybody is wrong and he doesn’t have to fix his dam.
I’ll bet his parents couldn’t get him to do his homework….he made excuses until they tore their hair, and gave up.
all this useless effort on his part so that he doesn’t have to do what is his responsibility, and everybody else gets to handle his ****.
Well David Hodsdon apparently likes a challenge! He spotted 2 of the 6 seams where the 7 pictures were joined. He’s got some experience with this sort of thing as he owns one of those robotic Gigapan camera platforms and has made some nice panoramas.
“George”, you’re a prince of a petition spokesperson!! Thank you…thank you… for your diligent and persevering carving and cutting and scraping through all the clutter that defines Mr. Kelly and his endeavors. Many, and Mother Nature herself are grateful, I’m sure.
Aaron Miller
Didn’t hear any “tough questions” questions asked.
No. No tough questions. And my primary concerns, the impact of the draw down on the ecology and wildlife habitat, the draining of 350 acres of wetlands, and the unusable State boat launch did not get mentioned either. But we’ll take the publicity just the same.
David Miller
Personally, I detest video.
So Kelly says he wants out. Does he have a way to restore the water rights that he split off from ownership of the dam? A dam without water rights is pretty damned useless. Pun intended.
Hard to say David; not if you believe what Kelley says and until the flowage rights become reacquainted with the dam, he is stuck with it. However, the record owner of the flowage rights, Aquafortis Associates, is a party to the petition and when the water level order is placed, they will become equally liable, along with the dam owner, for non-compliance with the order. This is a particularly unpleasant position for them to be in considering they don’t own the dam; in other words, they’re liable for a water level they have no control over. That would make me uncomfortable! Perhaps they’ll conclude they don’t really need the flowage rights after all (they don’t) and will put them on the table.
Then there is the argument that flowage rights are an appurtenant easement to the dam which does the flooding, and can’t legally be separated from it. Perhaps Kelley still owns those flowage rights and doesn’t know it. Kelley has created an untenable situation and he’s now mired in it. Hoist on his own petard.
Claryview
It is sad that Paul Kelley approaches things in such a litigious way. If he had been more open about his goals, perhaps things would not be in the state they are today. For example, approaching lake water level control in a more responsible, community oriented way would have obviated the need for petitioning the DEP to set a water level regime. Even keeping the water level just below the “hole” in the dam might have been acceptable to all!
Colin Caissie
Well the fact that you filed a petition got up his nose, and he has reacted to your meddling with passive aggression. So, yes, he was going to fix the dam sometime until you wanted him to fix the dam.
Nobody, I said nobody, tells Paul Kelley what to do.
One comment about this from a friend of mine who is a lawyer: “Oh, for christ’s sake, that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.” Another friend of mine (who also happens to be a lawyer) couldn’t stop laughing long enough to tell me what they really thought. There are however deeply troubling aspects to this latest development despite the obvious humorous implications of Kelley filing restrictive covenants on himself.
Officially, Kelley is still represented by Tony Buxton of PretiFlaherty but it remains to be seen if this is in fact the case or only being maintained for appearances. In any case, Kelley’s email address is not on the Service List so unless Tony Buxton is forwarding these emails to Kelley, it is likely he’ll first learn of this list email when he reads it on this site:
The fact that Ms. Parent has given us only 3 days to comment says a whole lot about what she thinks about these covenants: Not Much. In other words, color Heather Parent Not Impressed with Kelley’s latest shenanigans. This means she doesn’t intend to let this these covenants sidetrack her deliberations, which means the water level petition is right on track. If she had given us 2 weeks to comment, or a month, I would have been worried. And mad. Instead I’m happy, and Kelley is mad.
I also suspect that Kelley will be scrambling to come up with a sensible explanation of his actions, and of course he’ll fail miserably. I can’t wait to read it. I don’t think Kelley expected these covenants to come to light so soon; it was rather fortuitous that I became aware of them less than 2 days after they were filed. I think he was waiting to for the right time to drag `em out. I’d like to think we’ve caught him with his pants down…
If any of the covenants, restrictions or other provisions of this Declaration shall be unlawful, void or voidable because of the Rule against Perpetuíties, then such provision or provisions shall continue only until twenty-one (21) years after the death ofthe last survivor of the now living descendants of Elizabeth II, Queen of England.
Huh?
randy Wing
Does Kelly’s mortgage restrict his ability to place covenants on the dam? A commercial lender would most likely include language in a mortgage disallowing any covenant that could possible impair the value of the asset. I wonder if Art Enos considered such language. Maybe Kelly ‘s covenant is a non-starter anyway?? Randy Wing
Good question Randy. There is nothing in the mortgage deed to prevent what Kelley did nor anything in the covenants themselves to suggest Art Enos approved them and I suspect he didn’t even know about them. As a courtesy I emailed Art last week informing him of the covenants. I also mentioned the fact that Art didn’t sign off on the covenants to Bob Rubin, Clary Lake Association counsel and he thought it was pretty much a non-starter: If Art were to foreclose on the property and take the dam back he likely wouldn’t be bound by the covenants. But Art’s not going to foreclose on the dam, he doesn’t want it back. He wants his money and Kelley’s Covenants have gone a long way towards assuring Enos won’t get paid.
Oh Amanda, he’s not mean-spirited. I’m sure he just doesn’t care.
Ann Holland
Taylor has a welt on his neck where she bit him but says she was the prettiest bird he’s ever seen and well worth the effort!
Margaret Fergusson
There’s no end to the adverbs and adjectives that apply….
Playing with lives…
Audaciously wasting precious time…
Unadulterated narcissism…
Lost to reality…
Kindred with nothing…
Elastic Enthusiasm for idiotic Epiphanies…
Loquaciously Lopsided…
Loose cannon…
Enamered in his Egomaniacal Enclave
Yoked and Yelping…Your party’s over…
Both Sue McKeen and I have written comments on the KJ web site. More people should take advantage of this public forum to express their opinions about this matter.
Jack Holland
George, Thanks for the informative update on the algae..
That’s what it is really all about right Mary? The environment? The one issue I have with the publicity we’ve received over the past year and a half is that they’re always saying this petition is about lake shore owners who are unhappy with their water level and who are “unable to enjoy their lake.” Not so. I know I’m not alone when I say I enjoy the lake every day. What pains me is the impact the draw down has had and continues to have on the ecology and environment around Clary Lake: the lost wetland and wildlife habitat. 50% of the water in the lake is gone and with it the productive shallow water littoral zone. It’s a crime Mary. A bloody crime.
Just happened to look at the map they prepared showing the location of the State boat launch and notice they’ve actually put the destination pin on Bob Antognoni’s house.
Well judging from my own discussions with Ms. Howatt and what has been stated in this article, it is perfectly clear to me that not only am I confused about what Paul Kelley’s intentions are, so too is DEP confused.
Eh.. He can leave a for-sale sign on the dam as long as he wants as far as I’m concerned Steve.
Steve Viti
George, perhaps it doesn’t matter, perhaps it does, but as a lake shore owner I’ve never received either notice from Kelly. I always receive by tax bill from the Town of Whitefield in a timely fashion. Hate to out of the loop but I don’t think he rectified anything if I’m not getting these notices.
Well Mary, It did not start well but I’m happy to report that it ended on a hopeful, more or less positive note thanks to the patient efforts of a number of people. I’m working on a post now. A Lincoln County News reporter was there so I expect an article in this week’s paper. I’ll post it on the website later this afternoon 🙂
No, really: DEP won’t make any definitive statements about what the order looks like or a time line for it’s completion but I have been assured that the Department is in fact working on a order and that it will be issued when it’s ready, and not before. I believe them. I just wish they’d hurry up.
Are you getting an error message and if so, what is it? It loads OK for me… it is a big file, over 2 megabytes so it might take a while and your browser may choke on it. I’ll try breaking it into a few pieces.
Woohoo! The dam must be repaired and the lake level is to be maintained within 2 feet of the established normal high water mark!!!!! Water in our lake again!!!!
Thank you Bob! This marks a significant milestone in our quest for a resolution to the Clary Lake water level mess. There is however much work ahead. We’re not out of the woods yet. Your continued support is appreciated.
Now that your first comment has been approved, future comments should appear automatically.
I agree with Bob….many thanks to you George for your tenacity in fighting to save our lake. Congratulations on a job well done!
Colin S. Caissie
Looks like Kelley has yet more responsibilities to handle now. So sad that he couldn’t figure out the intelligent way to do all this, years ago.
Skip Poole
I took the time to read it and think it’s great! My only question that I would have is; Given his track record, (from where I sit), What would be the penalty if he doesn’t comply on time. It sure will be nice to drive by there and see the water flowing near or over the top of that dam like it did when I was a kid..
Hi Skip. I was a little surprised there was nothing in the ORDER about the enforcement provisions of water level orders which are provided for by State law, MRSA Title 38 § 841. “Maintenance of dams.” The law has teeth and the penalty for failure to comply with a water level order is substantial:
3. Enforcement. The commissioner or any littoral or riparian proprietor may commence an action to enjoin the violation of any provision of this subarticle. The commissioner may enforce any order issued under section 840, subsection 5 or subsection 6 by any other appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, entering the dam premises to carry out the terms of the order.
The violation of any order issued under section 840. subsection 5 or subsection 6, is punishable by a forfeiture of not less than $100 and not more than $10,000. Each day of violation is considered a separate offense.
Thanks to the requirement for a publicly visible, permanently mounted water level gauge, everyone will be able to monitor the water level of Clary Lake, and monitor it they will. In short, non-compliance is not an option.
When I first read the draft order, my initial thought was, who in their right mind would want to own a dam with a water level order on it? Well the answer to that question is simple: anyone who wishes to protect and preserve Clary Lake. For such a person, complying with the order is not an onerous burden at all but an honor, and a privilege. This is why the Clary Lake Association, which is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural beauty and quality of Clary Lake and its watershed, should own the dam and why the Association has supported this petition initiative from the very start. It is also explains why we have received the outcome we desired, and why Kelley has not: our interests are aligned with those of the Department and the IF&W and Kelley’s are not. It’s that simple.
Jack Holland
George, I want to thank you once again for all your hard work. Although we have many talented and dedicated members in our lake association I believe that we would be hard pressed to find one with the level of knowledge, expertise, unwavering dedication and stamina to see this petition to completion. George, you are a GEM. Thanks again, Jack
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait till October 2014 for Christmas.
Big hugs to you George. Congrats for a good job, well done.
Tim Harkins
Thank you very much for all your time and hard work that you put into bringing a resolution to the dam water level problem. We applaud you!!
The water level variations are of great interest to me. I often wonder what the lake condition was like before the dam was put in. Anyway, thanks George for maintaining the water level records.
Colin Caissie
So, what is he really saying? He doesn’t care about the actual matter, but is fighting the controversy over procedure. That may impress types like himself, but 95% of humanity is sane enough to realize that he’s desperately trying to cover his obvious failures and avoiding responsibility, shrieking and going down fast.
So, Happy New Year Paul. Are you anesthetizing yourself? If I was in your shoes, I’d be drinking.
C
Steve Viti
Mr Kelly can you say…loser? But please do go easy on the imbidements . When you come to you’ll still be the…can you say…loser?
I am chagrined to find myself quoted in Mr. Kelley’s Motion to bolster his position requesting an extension due to inclement weather:
“Petitioners/Intervenors themselves made note of the adverse conditions, stating on December 27th “I was without power for 3 ½ [three and one-half] days this past week and was unable to work at my computer. I did compose some notes on paper with pencil only to find that I can no longer read my own hand writing.” [George Fergusson, Clary Lake Association website posting at clarylake.org].”
Hehe… inclement weather, yes but Paul… I didn’t ask for an extension 🙂
Well, it’s 5:01 by my clock and I’ve received nothing. Either Kelley left me off the list or he’s decided to blow off comments on the Draft water level order. I’ll know soon enough.
Colin Caissie
Kelley , omniscient and superior in his intellect, never makes a mistake, whether in forgetting people on the list, or spelling the Draft as DAFT, or in misspelling your name. You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to realize this. What he says is exactly what he means.
So we have received a very clear portrait of the man.
Claryview
Well done George!
Your comments to the order can only improve the final result. I look forward to the day when PPM decides to allow the CLA to assist in implementing the water order or to consider seriously to sell the dam to the Association.
Beth Callahan has just re-sent Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s January 6th email with attached comments on the Daft Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Service List, stating that apparently not all the people on the list had actually received the email. I’m sure she enjoyed doing that.
I’ll try. Chris Johnson informs me that he did NOT submit formal comments on the Draft order. I’m guessing now that the reporter was misinformed. I honestly can’t imagine comments being submitted to Beth Callahan without them being forwarded to the Service List, but I’ll ask around.
Mary- It turns out there WERE 3 comments that were sent to Beth Callahan’s email address and never made it to the Service List, from Senator Christopher Johnson, Jeff Murphy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Stephen Sheppard of NOAA. I’ll post them shortly.
You’re welcome Mary. It turns out they weren’t earth-shaking comments, or vile spittle-covered diatribes like Paul Kelley’s comments, but it is nice to know that U.S. Fish & Wildlife approves of the Draft Order in its entirety and that the National Marine Fisheries Service only really cares that the Atlantic Salmon spawning grounds don’t get unduly de-watered. I expecially like that Chris Johnson took exception to ONE WORD in a 16 page document.
I had planned on posting a few thoughts about Mr. Kelley’s comments on the Draft Clary Lake water level order once I had had a chance to re-read them a few times. However, having now done that, I have to fall back on some advice my mother gave me when I was growing up: “If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.”
So I have nothing to say about Mr. Kelley’s comments except to wonder out loud “Where are the foot notes?” There are no foot notes.
Colin Caissie
Looks like OVER 50CFS flow to me. Should we let Aquafortis know that the dam owner is violating the covenant? Should be sued….I mean the covenant, in the absence of the final order, is the legal instrument that is in force. I think somebody should tell Smith that Kelley is recklessly releasing water, is showing negligence by not measuring the dangerous flow rate, and should be brought before the authorities. Violating the covenant that they worked so hard to create….criminal.
Well I did take a jaunt up to the end of the lake to look at the channel but I was unable to get off the shore due to high water and thin ice. So I was unable to corroborate my assertion that the water from the meadow is currently flowing into the lake but it has to be. I did take this panorama which is pretty cool:
Well it looks to be a glaring failure on the part of PPM. While PPM was blaming bad weather for causing a leak, they did nothing to make the repair, which any motivated housewife or group of townies, or just I, could have permanently fixed in a couple of weekends of actual effort. Instead, PPM generated more than enough paper shenanigans to plug the leak. Maybe that’s how smart people solve problems, but to me it didn’t seem to help much.
Now PPM’s got a dam that is just getting worse, and the Aquafortis property downstream (our beloved Clary Water Mill) is in jeopardy. I note that neither PPM nor Aquafortis has done much to significantly improve either property, and clearly it’s falling down. Now we stand to lose a local historic landmark, part of the town’s history and culture, and property which, thanks to Mr. Kelley, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Not only that, but Aquafortis has placed a restrictive covenant on water flow to protect his property, and PPM is violating that current rule. Some of us view the covenant as an ill-conceived ploy to discourage a future dam owner so that PPM can get their breach order and walk away, and we know that the Aquafortis covenant is trumped when the State of Maine DEP Water Level Order becomes final. But at this time it’s valid, and in force. Normally I wouldn’t care about any of this paper posturing, but now it looks like real conditions have made the covenant relevant to protecting property and part of our town’s environment.
When the real Spring thaw hits, is PPM’s poorly maintained property going to damage the poorly maintained Aquafortis property?
Aquafortis and PPM have ruined the lake environment, endangered cherished history, consumed our time and energy, and have just let everything rot down. I wonder if the National Register would be concerned if they knew one of their landmarks was endangered?
PPM should hope that the Lake Level Order is quickly issued. Then he should think about whether he’s wiser to comply with the Order, or is better off selling it ASAP.
Hi Skip- His filing an appeal of the water level order does NOT stay the water level order, it is still in force and needs to be complied with. His first deadline is May 1st by which time he’s got to have a water level management plan prepared. Failure to meet that deadline constitutes a violation of the order and will be dealt with by the Department.
So Kelley has a rather over-full plate at this time. First he’s got the Water Level Order to contend with, second he’s got his Petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance to promote, and third he’s got his appeal in Superior court to pursue. He also no doubt has a few other monkeys on his back. One could almost feel sorry for him. Almost.
Jack Holland
I would like to add a big thank you to David Hodsdon for his long time involvement with VLMP and bringing me into this program, also the CLA for their support for providing the updated equipment we use during the water testing.
Steve Viti
Well, there’s always 2015 to look forward to, right? This is getting very old.
Eve Kinney
Photos were delightful to see. The expressions on their little faces are just priceless. Just a pure joy to see. We thank you. Doug & Eve Kinney
Great photos…so glad I finally got to them…and a new ‘crop’ of shots is awakening before us. Let’s remain steadfast, all of us, and not let anything or “anyone” take away our power to enjoy these incredible gifts of nature. We will get beyond all the nonsense and arrogance and posturing that speak only to the stupidity of a humankind. “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”!!
It was a great weekend to observe nature. I saw loons, at least 4 eagles
(2 mature and 2 inmmature), dozens of little buffleheads, and a solitary king fisher. The extent of ice melt from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning was incredible!
Eve Kinney
Gee am I missing something here? Did we, the Clary Lake Association, not make the offer to Mr. Kelley that we would buy the dam from him and he told us NO? He is getting desperate and running on empty. What is wrong with this man? I think he has Alzheimer’s and needs help. Lots of it! He does not care about the lake one iota nor does he care about the wildlife. I am totally disgusted with this man lack of character and the injustice to all who live on the lake. Enough is enough. He has exhausted all his legal rights by now and they shouldn’t let it carry on any longer.
I share your frustration Eve. Yes, we’ve offered to buy the dam and take over the note. He must have some very compelling reason to continue hang on to it in the face of the circumstances.
What an unbelievable streak of bad luck for Mr. Kelley.
Nothing has gone the way he wanted. Even things that did not rely on pure luck…like responsibly maintaining his property at the dam site, or modifying his extremely restrictive covenants and legal postures in order to gain cooperation …..have blown back on him, and now he’s got a dam that needs even more extensive repair, a pile of legal hassles, looming fines, and a citizenry that views him as a foe of Clary Lake, the towns of Whitefield and Jefferson, and probably the unpaid mortgage holder.
“Born under a bad sign….. If it wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have no luck at all”.
Or on a positive note, “We create our own luck.”
Jack Holland
Great, just when the mermaids were due migrate :):):)
Paul must be disappointed that all those high officials are not going to march around to his tune. It would have been a spectacle worthy of the Perennially Farcical Kelley Circus Act.
This guy will get this *ss handed to him real soon.
Too late, Paul, to go and do the right thing, now it’s harvest time for all the ill will you’ve sown.
Schadenfreudenly,
Colin
Colin Caissie
“The DEP typically uses 80K actions where administrative settlement efforts have failed, where such action is necessary to prevent environmental harm, or to prevent an alleged violator from subverting the administrative process. All Rule 80K actions seek to obtain a court ordered resolution that includes any necessary corrective action and penalties.”
Well that’s our boy….causing environmental harm and subverting all processes.
Like watching a bug crawl out on a burning stick. He can fry if he wishes to, all I want is a return to a functional lake.
Makes me wonder if any community resource should be held in the hands of a single person. I mean, what happens if your wellbeing is at the mercy of an immature, selfish, unreasonable and destructive twerp? People begin to pass laws to overcome this, and then we complain about loss of freedom.
Freedom is the ability to overcome our nature and raise ourselves to reasonable and compassionate action. Kelley (like any 9 year old) thinks freedom is doing whatever you want.
C
Colin Caissie
Wow. They obviously have studied Kelley’s strategy and reviewed his list of successes, and said, “Looks good to me, sign me up.”
There’s a decidedly “Tea Party-ish” flavor to the Coombs’ “declaration” (made even more palpable by their quoting from the Declaration of Independence) that is missing from Paul Kelley’s approach, though the arguments are familiar. One thing that is significantly different about the Branch Pond issue is the condition of the dam. In 2011 MEMA indeed characterized the dam as a “Significant Potential Hazard dam” and the Coombs have apparently done nothing to address the serious dam safety issues raised in the report: MEMA Branch Pond Dam Report
Colin Caissie
“My hope is that all the parties see that the best solution is no longer to fight this but to try to see if there is some constructive solution.”
The constructive solution has existed for years. Kelley has to stop fighting this, and see it.
C
Colin Caissie
I wonder where actual current facts fit into the argument. All I read is technicalities that suit Kelley’s self-serving argument. The lake level has been acceptable for the lake level owners and the habitat barring certain periods when owners have messed with it. Now we have this new troublemaker upsetting it all.
Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini
Glaze ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TB lemon juice
1 TB soft butter
Instruction
1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9×5 loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.
George Fergusson
Thanks Ann! Sorry for not responding sooner! I’ve been thinking we ought to have a Recipes page…. I’ve got enough to do though so we’d need someone to handle that…
Eve Kinney
What does Paul Kelly want, a hand delivered letter!!! This is long over due and it is simply an injustice to all of us. When will someone make this man comply and stop this madness. It is disgusting and wrong on every level. Someone needs to grow some balls and make him do what they told him he needed to do long ago, enough already. I am mad as hell with this whole drawn out process.
I understand there may be a few more irate lake shore owners writing DEP soon. A bunch of people tried to use the State boat launch this past weekend to get their boats out. They succeeded, just barely, but in once case (a friend of mine) he cracked the hull of his sail boat dragging it over the rocks to the end of the ramp.
As October 1st approacheth, do you know where our repaired and functioning dam is? Me either.
George Fergusson
Beth Callahan responds:
From: “Callahan, Beth”
Date: September 30, 2014 at 2:52:13 PM EDT
To: ‘Jean McWilliams’
Subject: RE: Clary Lake
Dear Jean,
Thank you for your email describing your concerns in regard to water levels in Clary Lake. I understand that you must be frustrated by the situation; however, I can ensure you that I have noticed recent water levels. Although not officially measured, I have noticed the water level of the lake this summer at times when gathering data and also other times as I’ve driven by on my way to and from other project sites.
Immediately following issuance, the Department’s Order was appealed to Superior Court and a number of parties also filed a separate application request for mediation. The Department was named as a party in the suit and in the requests for mediation; therefore, the Department, represented by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, is directly in involved in the mediation process. Mediation began in July and it is still ongoing pursuant to the State’s Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service regulations. Based upon recommendation from our Assistant Attorney General in the matter, it was decided around the time that mediation began that the Department would put enforcement action on hold until an outcome through mediation was reached. Unfortunately, I just have no idea as to what or when this will be.
Although this is the Department’s current situation and position, this does not mean to say that you have no voice and no other options. There is an alternative mechanism in Maine Statute that does not limit just the Department to initiate enforcement action. The statute also allows any littoral or riparian owner to seek enforcement action of a violation of a Water Level Order. For more information on this option, take a look at 38 M.R.S.A. § 841 (3) in Maine Statutes here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/38/title38sec841.html. This type of enforcement action may come with its own set challenges like the Department is experiencing, and I’m definitely not trying to steer you in any sort of direction. I just wanted you to be aware that there is an enforcement mechanism outside of the Department that’s available to you, in case you are interested in learning more and if you didn’t already know.
Again, Jean, thank you for your concerns and for your photos as well. Feel free to contact me further if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
BETH CALLAHAN
Project Manager
Division of Land Resource Regulation
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
(207) 446-1586 beth.callahan@maine.gov
Bill Albert
I too have sent a letter in support of getting this situation resolved:
From: Bill Albert [mailto:billalbert@masiello.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 4, 2014 1:47 PM
To: beth.callahan@maine.gov
Subject: Maine DEP To Hold Hearing On Petition To Establish Water Level Regime For Clary Lake
To: Beth Callahan, DEP Project Manager:
Greetings, I own a small mobile home at 53 Hodsdon lane, Jefferson Maine, the property is on Clary Lake. I Have owned this property about 6 years. When I purchased the mobile home form a very nice 86 year old couple the lake was very nice, with no issues boating or hitting rocks. Over the past few years I have watched with sorrow the loss of loons and lake.
This year I am concerned I will not have enough water line to pump water to the house, and I am concerned I will not be able to get my 1958 Crestliner Voyager out of the lake.
My wife and I took the Kayak over to the boat launch and ran aground on some rocks….IN a kayak!
Is there any hope in the near future to get this resolved? I am not as versed in this problem as some of my neighbors, but this seems like some fellow is thumbing his nose at the sate.
Thanks you for your time, and I am hoping you can help us to keep from running into rocks.
I just got back from a gathering on Flagstaff Lake, celebrating a 70th birthday of Lance Tapley, one of the key people in the action by the State of preserving Bigelow, and met with the other great man Bob Cummings.
Here we have men who persevered in creating a resource for the benefit of Mainers and others who care about the natural life around them. As I looked at beautiful Flagstaff, I remembered that it was a stream, the Dead River and the huge resource of the lake was created from that. It reminded me that Clary Lake was once a stream with a pond on it, and the creative works of certain men brought it up to the level of a larger life sustaining entity, of great benefit to the towns, the population and the State.
Can you imagine the horror and injustice of someone cleverly avoiding the responsibility inherent in owing and operating Long falls Dam and wrecking Flagstaff Lake? Tricking the State into action that is legal, yet obviously wrong? What kind of self serving moral midget would do that?
Well, somebody like the owner of the dam at Clary Lake has done just that. I wonder what level of being this man has, what the inside of his head is like? Is he totally ignorant of his responsibility in this matter but only clings to the illusion that he’s rightfully carrying out the law? What hollow reason from such a man. Or is it more malicious and intentional?
He has played his hand well, avoiding responsibility and stringing us along for years now. Embarrassing to think that this guy has done this to us. Imagine our celebration when this vermin is finally eradicated.
The Clary webcam came back to life as soon as Time Warner Cable fixed their internet service problem, about an hour ago. Phew. 3 days without internet at home was not pleasant.
I was born in 1952 and spent all my summers at Clary Lake from 1953 -1965. Learned to swim there, never wore shoes and made many clay ashtrays from the nature clay deposits. It was a different world back then, pristine and quiet….
Someone emailed me and asked how low the lake has gotten. The lowest I’ve seen it in recent years was on April 21, 2012 when the lake level was down to -62.32″ below the top of the dam. There is photographic evidence that back in July 1961 the level was likely 6″ lower than that. See the last two pictures in the Historical Photographs album.
Thanks George for keeping us in the loop. But still, my head is starting to hurt.
Jack Holland
George Thank you for the update and explanation. I’m sure many people have noticed and wondered. I had a conversation with one of my neighbors just yesterday as we noticed plenty around our shallows .
You’re welcome Jack. I heard from Scott Williams with the VLMP today, he said he’s received numerous other questions/inquiries about metaphyton this summer suggesting that the weather conditions (hot, dry, no rain) are at least partly responsible for stimulating metaphyton growth, but I wouldn’t blame it all on the weather by any means.
There are no health concerns that I am aware of from metaphyton. Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) on the other hand cause our algae blooms and in high enough concentrations can release toxins that can kill fish and other wildlife and pose a health risk to humans. It hasn’t gotten that bad here yet. See this page: Cyanobacteria: Blue-Green Algae
Kudos to Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson for taking interest and action for our plight. Let’s hope something good will com from this effort.
Great letter. Many thanks to Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson.
Alan Decker
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.
We all appreciate your efforts in keeping the website up to date. The website seemed to load quicker this AM, especially on my Dell Tablet which has a somewhat slow processor.
The back end integration of the original camera was rather complicated because the camera uploads an image with a name using a time-stamp so each uploaded picture name is unique… not what you want for a webcam page. I wrote a script which runs under cron to first archive the newly uploaded image, then rename it so when you bring up the web cam page it always loads the current image. The same cron job also deletes the archived images older than 2 weeks so they don’t fill up the disk. Fortunately, this new camera uses the same naming convention so I didn’t have to recreate the wheel, as it were, I could use the existing back end system to manage the uploads.
Cameras that are specifically designed to provide a static image updating regularly don’t require these shenanigans, but they also cost a lot more. Now that I’ve got those pieces worked out, it would be a fairly simple matter to add additional web cams using a similar camera…
I helped somebody install and configure tinyCam Monitor for Android to access the Clary Webcam the other day and thought it might be helpful to post the configuration parameters here:
According to the PPM/AQF response to the NOV, Clary Lake rose 36.5″ after the September 30th storm in which we received about 5.5″ of rain. Really? 36.5″? Where’d they come up with that figure I wonder. I measured only a 16.5″ rise from that event.
Tried Internet Explorer today using the Foscam plugin and it worked fine. I’m not a fan of IE but if that’s the browser you use, it will work fine to login to the camera.
Took a similar video just days before and also marveled at the welcome water level just behind our weary damn. It’s been a long time since it looked this good, leaks and all.
I agree Stephen. It’s a fine dam in fundamentally good shape and just needs a little work. I wish Mr. Kelley would either sell us the dam or let us fix it for him.
A clear an concise report on the year’s events. You are to be commended for your hard work towards a solution of the dam problem. Thanks for the summary. I will be sure to send people to the website when they ask me “how is the dam situation?”
Thank you David. 2015 was a very busy year and I expect 2016 to be even busier!
Jack Holland
George, Just finished reading and am disappointed with current outcome, as I am sure you and other members also. Just for clarity, At this time is the WLO being enforced or fines being imposed? OR is the Superior court appeal have these on hold?
I want to thank you and the board, along with others that have put in a lot of time and effort to find a resolution to this mess. As the old saying goes, it’s not over till it’s over!!! Keep the faith, Jack
Hi Jack- Sorry for not responding before now but I’ve been out straight! With settlement discussions over (at least for now), there is nothing keeping DEP from taking additional enforcement action so I think we can expect movement to resume. Additional enforcement action could take the form of an administrative consent decree, a civil suit, or just turning the matter over to the Attorney General’s Office to pursue. The water level order appeal in Superior Court is not on hold, it is just moving slowly.
I too am disappointed that the Board has withdrawn from settlement discussions. Perhaps, after the foreclosure on the dam is consummated the air will clear, and we may be able to continue discussions with the dam owner.
T Edington
What happens to Long pond when this dam is removed?
My understanding is there will be no effect on the level of Long Pond if the Coopers Mills dam is removed, they’re not hydraulically connected. Not even close. The Coopers Mills dam has an elevation of around 153 feet and the structure that determines the level of Long Pond is an old concrete weir (in disrepair) at what is called the Basin, located about 1/2 mile above the Coopers Mills dam at an elevation of about 178 feet.
It’s pretty strange! I got an email from someone wondering how the falling water level affected the ice conditions. Basically, as the water level falls the ice hangs up on the shore causing the ice surface to become bowl-shaped. Cracks then form near and parallel to the shore line and water gushes up onto the surface, spreading out and adding weight to the surface, which then causes even more water to flow out onto the ice. As the lake continues to fall, pretty soon you’ve got a lot of water on the surface. Throw in some snow and warming temperatures and you’ve got the conditions we’re seeing now.
Randy Wing
Nice George! Can you do a version using hot potatoes instead of coconuts?
The camera is well and truly dead. I’ll be shipping it back to the manufacturer to see what they can do with it. In the mean time, I’m taking up a collection for a new camera.
Very. I walked the better part of a mile in from the lake, I could see all the way up Clark’s Meadow Brook toward the Sennott Road. Not a muskrat house in sight.
Jack Holland
George, Looks like you were having fun. Any idea how thick the ice is???
6″ at least, maybe a little more. With the recent rains and rising water level there are cracks (in some cases, LARGE cracks) and you can easily see the thickness. Around the shore it can be hard to get on the ice because of standing water in places.
I thought so! Sorry for jumping the gun, you concur on the 13th being the ice-out date I take it?
Sheppard Hobgood
George,
I imagine you already know about the University of Iowa’s large repository of Chautauqua historical items that are available on line. I am running this by you just on the off chance that you are not aware of the repository. Most of the above people are covered by the university’s collection. By the way, Percy Hunt and Lucy Lee used to talk about a visitor to the farm one summer by the name of William Jennings Bryan. Keep up the good work!
Hi Shep! Actually I was NOT aware of the University of Iowa’s repository. I will however check it out and will pass the link onto Ms. Sacks. Thanks loads.
Thanks George. A whole lot to swallow and digest here but I remain forever hopeful and cautiously optimistic that we will soon have our beloved Clary Lake, the way we remember it, returned to us.
The lake fell 0.01′ (0.12″) since yesterday morning indicating the rate of fall has been cut in half since the gate was closed. We’ll see if the trend continues,
Thanks David. I think the conclusions that can be drawn from an analysis of our measured depths of the so-called “deep hole” are 1) the actual deepest part of the lake is pretty small and 2) the bottom in that area is pretty lumpy i.e., there are rocks and boulders down there.
I fished from 9 till1pm when that jet ski showed up, albeit from my canoe. While I enjoyed the morning’s quiet and having the lake all to myself I’d much rather be fishing from my garaged boat.
A couple of people apparently thought the image included in the post was a working form. It is not. Look on the right side of the screen right below the weather report!
Malcolm Burson
This is, it goes without saying, really discouraging. My own sense is that this would be a good time to re-engage our legislators, to at the very least, request an accounting from DEP as to why the department is refraining from it’s statutory obligation to pursue enforcement.
This is an outrage to say the least. They have had more time to comply and it is clear they have no intentions of doing so. The court needs to step it up now and stop this once and for all. No one else is doing their job. Everyone else is letting Kelly get away with having things his way. The DEP has allowed this to drag on for 5 years now. What about the obligation to enforce the law and make people responsible for their actions or lack of them. Enough is enough already!!
Eve, thank you for sharing. I understand your outrage and share it. However, until we know more about what has transpired and where this is going, I’m going to hold my temper. However, as Malcolm suggests, DEP is going to have to be a lot more forthcoming, and soon. We can’t be left in the dark any longer. We have been exceedingly patient, but people are fed up.
Attorneys for Kelley (the dam owner) and Smith (the mill owner) were supposed to have presented a plan to repair the dam to DEP last week. Didn’t happen. I understand that a plan is still being worked on. There are a lot of players in this drama Jean, and the role that Medius L3C is supposed to play (besides owning a non-performing loan) isn’t entirely clear.
Margaret A Fergusson
The agenda looks quite stimulating…all things lake…great opportunity for more knowledge…more ammunition against those that would harm ‘our’ lake.
Kate Seba
So happy Daddy’s signs are once again needed. He’s smiling from Heaven
So exciting…its been several years since we been able to watch a loon family on the lake. I hope the water level remains stable while the birds are nesting….
I wonder how long the nest has been there? It’s quite well hidden, you have to be really looking for it to see it so it’s not hard to imagine it’s been there a while- a week or so anyways. The Audubon Loon Count is July 16th this year and it is expected that loons will have fledged their young well before that. With a gestation period of 26-30 days, if the lake level can remain relatively stable for a couple of weeks and nothing else goes wrong, we should see babies in a couple of weeks.
With the lake falling only 0.01′ to 0.03′ per day now, the greatest risk is from flooding. Needless to say, if the lake were being maintained where it should be this time of year, flooding would not be an concern.
As a matter of fact, I just got back from their place, she said that Randy first noticed the nest about 5-6 days ago. That would be around June 12th or 13th and I suspect it has been there a while longer than that. I went over to check out how visibly accessible the nest is from there. Turns out VERY ACCESSIBLE! I’ll post some pictures later today.
Arlene Wing
I’m getting a new long range lens next week and will hopefully be able to post some good pics for everyone. We’re beside ourselves with excitement! Just praying the chicks make it.
That’ll be great! Thank you so much! This will be the best documented loon nest in Clary Lake history 🙂 Particularly want pictures of the nest showing both loons and with your vantage point you should be able to see into the nest and show the eggs when the nest is unoccupied.
I’m going to try hooking my camera up to a 6″ F/5 Newtonian telescope. It’s intended for stars and planets but should work passably well for terrestrial use as well with some minor modifications.
Deeply discouraging is nice way of expressing what we’re all feeling. “…give them more time this summer to raise money for the repairs…”? This is just plain BS, have them take out a loan for christsake! Our livelihoods have been held hostage for way too long!
Deeply discouraged indeed!
Why thank you Mary! They are surprisingly good given what I used to take them. Usually with an aperture that large (6″) and high magnifications you get atmospheric distortions (heat waves, air currents) and vibrations that impair image quality. Just hit the right combination of distance and exposure I guess!
I just uploaded some new pictures that Arlene sent me this morning showing the loons maneuvering around on the nest, muddy breast and all. See the 2016 Loon Nest Gallery
Turn your speakers up? It is the sound track of a video recorded with a Nikon D60 camera. I actually thought it was pretty good considering. I extracted the audio and chopped off the ends to isolate the loon calling. What I don’t know about working with audio/video files would fill a book David!
I checked the server logs and it appears from the user agent string that your browser is sending that you might be using Internet Explorer. Is that the case? I just tried IE and indeed, it won’t play the loon audio track. I don’t think there’s anything I can do to fix that problem on my end, it appears it is a browser compatibility issue. Try another browser, like Chrome or Firefox and let me know if it works.
Malcolm Burson
George, you’ll soon be eligible for your Eagle Scout birding merit badge! In any case, great looking and wonderful pictures: thanks.
Anyone members who can’t make it to the meeting and want a proxy ballot for the bylaws question, email me and I’ll send you a proxy ballot which you should fill out, scan, and send back to me. Alternatively, you can just email me your proxy for the meeting.
Kate Seba
George, if somebody would buy my husband a ticket to fly there from Louisiana he be happy to help with the cookout and The Rock moving. I doubt that they’ll be any takers for that but want you to know how much we as residents of Clary Lake appreciate all the other residents are doing to better the environment for all of us. Kate seba
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Dee Ann Grazioso (pictured in the group photo above) to Clary Lake. She recently bought Howard Nickerson’s property up on the east side of the northern end of the great meadow next to Sue & Bill McKeen’s property. It’s an absolutely beautiful spot, all it needs is some water! Dee was our first 2016/2017 member this year.
Welcome Dee Ann and thanks for your help and membership.
cheryl ayer
Awesome job, everybody! Thank you!!!!!!
Malcolm Burson
What a fabulous event, that we were sorry to miss. Kudos to everyone for hard work, smart thinking about the best way to carry out the project, and particularly to Erin for providing the Momentum for this and whatever is the next exciting activity.
I’ve had to move my waterline twice in the last two weeks. I’m hoping I still have running water available for the holiday weekend!
Jack Holland
Thanks George, I’m staying tuned.
FYI, finally got my boat in the water today with a lot of help from Dave Knight. After dragging off the trailer we then had to drag across the rocks to water deep enough to float. The channel cleared at the boat launch is only ankle deep Can’t imagine what it would have been like without all the work done last weekend. Sure hope we get a few inches of rain before its time to take boat out :):)
You could probably float a kayak or canoe to the end of the ramp, but I’m surprised you got your boat in at all. This morning we hit a new high in lows: -66.96″ below the top of the dam. You’ve never seen it this low.
Jack
Yup, canoe or kayak if your not in it :):) Anyway, found a few hungry fish. Will see if the hurricane comes up the coast and fill the lake :):)
I for one hope the Judge is as interested as I am in hearing what Art Enos and Medius L3C have to say. Surely he’ll want the testimony of the actual title-holder of the dam?
Malcolm Burson
George, I agree. I’m even more interested to learn what aspect of discovery R. Smith objects to, and on what basis.
You’re welcome Jack. People don’t inform me about broken links, missing pages, why should they say anything about a problematic menu layout?
Karen Stutzer
George,
Love all the work you do on this. Thank you so much.
I do want you to know that the drop downs were working well on my I Pad and I Phone. I could negotiate the site with ease. This fix has resulted in none of the drop downs working on my I pad or I Phone. Everything works fine on my MAC.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I get so little feedback from site visitors I’ve almost (but not quite) stopped even soliciting it.
I will look into this issue further. A commercial site would have QA engineers and a team of site testers to vet changes before they’re rolled out to make sure nothing breaks. Alas, that does not describe our site. It’s just me, trying as best I can to provide a functional and easy to navigate site.
I do utilize Google Analytics to monitor site traffic but again, it’s just me on this end and my time is limited. A quick peek shows that out of the last 878 sessions mobile users accounted for 349 of them and of those, 165 used Android OS and 149 used iOS. So iPhone users are a significant percentage of site visitors.
I’ll do some research into this menu issue and see if there’s something I can do to remedy this. If you don’t mind, I’ll ask you to do some additional testing.
Karen Stutzer
Thanks George. I am subscribed to the updates and go to the site whenever one comes to my e mail. I really do appreciate your attention to keeping us all in the loop. I will be happy to do testing. The Apple products are awesome when they work and a challenge to deal with when they don’t.
I’m surprised more people don’t subscribe to updates. I know nothing about Apple products. Once I sat down at a Mac and when I saw that the mouse only had one button, I freaked out 🙂
You’re entirely welcome Leslie, it was the least I could do. I meant every word; I only regret that I didn’t get to know Chris even better.
Thomas called me this morning, he thanked me as well. He wants copies of the photographs on your Facebook page. He’s coming over in a few days and I’m going to show him a thing or two about using Facebook 🙂
Incidentally, this post has gone viral. It has been viewed 343 times since I put it up which makes it the single most popular post on this website ever. That’s a tribute to how many people knew and loved your husband.
Since reaching our Membership goal of 100 members last Friday, we’ve added 6 more, bringing our total to 106. Way to go people!
Bill Donovan
George, Perhaps Mr. Enos would have better luck selling his property if he were to LOWER the asking PRICE to $575,000 and to include the Title to the Clary Lake Dam. Also, the caveat that the Clary Lake Association is more than happy to work with ANY person owning the dam and the WLO that is in place. I hope his broker is giving full disclosure as to WHO owns the DAM. Potential BUYERS BEWARE.
You’re lucky that’s all that happened. I talked to David Knight yesterday, he said he and Gayle were out on their porch watching the storm and saw the lightning flash over by your house. It must have been close…
There are 4.20 miles± (22,200’±) of shore front property in Whitefield that is owned by people who are not members of the Association. That’s a lot of shore front property. For comparison, in Jefferson, there are only 0.6 miles± of shore front property (3100’±) that belongs to people who are not members. This doesn’t include the Boat Launch property belonging to the State of Maine.
By commenting on this post, you’ve agreed to help test! Thanks! As for what’s happening with our lake lately… sadly, nothing new to report since the October 5th Clary Lake Water Level Order Update.
always willing to help. By the way, Time Warner (roadrunner.com) automatically puts “suspicious” email into a spam folder. This can be disabled and then “suspicious” emails are sent on with a prefix word of SPAM. I found it was quite agressive.
So there has been a plugin conflict plaguing me ever since I started work on this caching engine problem. It would crop up almost (but not quite) randomly and I’ve been unable to determine what was conflicting with what. Until now. I do believe I’ve figured it out.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: it’s not a job, it’s an adventure!
A definite improvement on my slow windows 8 tablet. I noticed that the images for the webcams are 3 days old. Having the reply info pre-loaded is a nice touch!
Glad you approve David. I’ve sure noticed a speed improvement! I found I had to refresh the webcam page to get the current images to show up. Looking for how to exclude the campics from the far-in-the-future expiration.
OK, I’ve set the expiration for all images named “campic.jpg” to “now” plus 2 minutes. This should resolve the problem of people’s browsers caching the campics. Let me know if you still see a problem.
I’ve also gotten rid of the sharing buttons on the News page, they now only show up when viewing individual posts. This has raised the News page score to a B 🙂
First email went out yesterday, not without it’s issues. It appears 5 or 6 emails failed to send because of a bad cached password in my browser. How does that even happen?
Malcolm Burson
Nicely summarized, George! You working on a new career as a limnologist?
Thanks for the informative report on the water quality this year. In one sense we were lucky it didn’t rain much because it minimized the runoff. On the other hand, the lack of rain, combined with the open dam, resulted in lowest water level that I’ve ever seen on the lake.
The drought has served to partially mitigate what would otherwise have been a record-setting algae bloom and generally poor water quality, brought on by reduced lake volume and high phosphorus levels resulting from the record low water levels in Clary Lake. ALL the pieces were in place. Normal rains in June, July, and August would have pushed conditions over the edge so in that sense, and only that sense, the drought was “lucky.”
A few people have emailed me asking why we’re just finding out about this now. I too am puzzled as to why the DEP failed to make this news public back in June or at least brought it to my attention.
I want to add my appreciation of your efforts in keeping track of water conditions around the lake. Only time will tell the benefits of collecting such information!
Kate- I emailed you. I’m not sure what your problem is. If you’re using a smartphone, it might be related to the mobile theme. I’ve disabled it temporarily. Let me know if your issue continues.
Hi Kate- So I borrowed my wife’s smartphone and tested the site with and without the mobile theme enabled. It appears when the mobile theme is enabled, people using smartphones to access the site are presented with a site map of every page on the site, below which is the regular content. Perhaps you just needed to scroll down further? You were able to leave a comment I notice.
Hate it when people have problems with the site. I think for now I will leave the mobile theme disabled until I can get more feedback from smartphone users.
The owner of the pie plate has been located and the plate returned.
Malcolm Burson
Would it make sense to look for someone with a plow on a 4-wheeler, rather than waiting for ice thick enough for a pick-up? Seems as if skaters would be fine with enough ice for a smaller vehicle. Just a thought…
The ice boat is still sitting where we left it, I grabbed this picture off of ClaryCam3 this morning:
Malcolm Burson
Excellent summary, Mr. Secretary, and your continuing dedication to the cause is by itself a matter to celebrate. May the New Year bring us glad tidings!
Thank you Mr. President. I’m in this for the duration.
Jack Holland
George, Thank you and all others involved in your tireless efforts and many hours spent towards reaching the goal of making our lake “whole” once again. Very much appreciated.
Mary Gingrow-Shaw
Despite the lack of progress towards implementation of the water level order, the increase in membership and community engagement are very positive accomplishments! Secretary George Fergusson is virtually singlehandedly responsible for the increase in membership…..THANK-YOU George for all your hard work and commitment!
We may have trouble live streaming this. The internet connection at Sheepscot General may not be fast enough. I’ll test an actual live session it as soon as I get a chance.
Stephen Viti
Paul A. Kelly strangeness notwithstanding, what happening with our lake lately? Been a while with no word, promising or otherwise. Any updates? Thanks
Hi Stephen- We’re basically waiting for the court cases to moving forward. Wish they’d move more quickly. On the 80C proceeding, I spoke to Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak last week and he tells me the ball is in Pretiflaherty’s court. Aquafortis Associates has an outstanding motion for discovery that Scott fully expects the Judge to deny. Then the appeal can move forward. I also have spoken to Bob Rubin recently, and from what he tells me it’s pretty clear his lawsuit has Kelley and Smith sweating.
Stephen Viti
Perhaps that sweat will help add to the lake level?
I wonder how many people are going to show up for this event? The number of people that can safely ride on an ice carousel depends on the diameter of the ice carousel and the thickness of the ice. Keeping in mind Archimedes “Eureka” moment and the general rule of thumb that “9/10 of an iceberg is underwater”, we can easily calculate how much weight a given carousel can hold up.
Hmmm….
Malcolm Burson
This is so GREAT! Thanks to all who participated. I’m already looking forward to next year!
Stephen Viti
Now if the dam stayed closed till spring I’d be a happy camper…and lakeshore owner!
Hey don’t mention it. Kudos if you managed to watch the whole thing!
Dave K
Interesting!!! Fun watching the sunsets and the trees change color.
Sad to watch the water level drop.
Noted very little human activity. More ducks than people.
Happy to see the tree shadows getting SHORTERER!!!! YAY! Here comes Spring!!
Made it all the way through but need to rest my eyes now. :-))
George Fergusson
What did you think of the sound track? Margaret thought it was scary, and depressing.
And yes, not a lot of boat traffic. Stephen Viti and me mostly, and I think I spotted Jack Holland’s boat out there on the ledges once. There were many days with NO boat traffic of any sort, thanks to the boat launch being unusable.
And yes, sad to watch the water level drop. Reached it’s lowest level ever of -67.20″ below the normal high water mark on October 9, 2016.
I should have pointed out that based on those 2 “issues” with the WLO, AQF has asked the Judge to throw out the WLO. Not going to happen.
Colin Caissie
Ya know, sometimes you see brilliant business prowess, successful, meaningful projects that provide benefit for all. The fruit of good will, coming from compassion and a source of real being.
Then sometimes….
Colin Caissie
Since when does the DEP decline to enforce special condition 3 re: repair? What does that mean?
Well when the Order was issued even I raised an eyebrow when I read special condition 3 which states in part:
“The owner of the dam shall repair or modify the Clary Lake Dam to an operational state, such that the dam is capable of holding water at full capacity and capable of consistently managing water levels in accordance with the provisions of this Order. The water level outlined in this Order shall not be implemented until dam repairs have been completed and the dam has reached an operational state or on October 1, 2014, whichever comes first.”
The fact is that DEP lacks the authority under the Water Level Law to tell a dam owner to repair their dam. They can however specify a water level regime to be adhered to. So the complaint of “You can’t make me fix the dam.” is valid. What the DEP should have said is “Here’s the water level regime you must comply with. Have a nice day.” Then if the dam owner has to fix the dam to comply, well that’s their problem isn’t it. What DEP was trying to do was assure that the dam was in good operational order before the dam owners would be expected to comply with the water level order.
Another case of PPM and AQF nitpicking over details rather than complying with the Order.
The Clary Lake Water Level Order contained a few mistakes when issued, and despite the fact that none of them were particularly egregious or compromised the intent of the Order, Paul Kelley nonetheless was quick to exploit them in an attempt to short circuit the WLO implementation.
Several people have told me about seeing a red pickup truck parked at the dam several times last month and a man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt poking around in the mill pond above the Clary Lake dam, apparently tending traps A beaver trapper? Did the dam owner hire a someone to trap out the beaver? Plausible. Trapping season for beaver in this area ended March 31st.
“There were no issues getting water to the scene due to its proximity to Clary Lake, Higgins said.”
“It’s a valuable water source and it helped preserve the house. If this happened last summer, we would have had a problem” due to the low water level, he said.
Genie Dailey
So sorry to hear about the fire, but thankful the main part of the house was saved. It’s a landmark on Clary Lake, and certainly a landmark in the Fergusson family. We wish all of you the best as you deal with the reclamation. —Genie & Jim
I would encourage people to leave comments on this article on Central Maine Papers website. It is easy enough to do and well worth the effort to let readers know how you feel about this ongoing travesty.
Great summary of Lake matters. Spring is in the air, very upbeat!
Malcolm Burson
George, this is a great overview. Hope all members will take the opportunity to read this.
Steve Cowles
Great info George, thanks for doing this. As a note, it would be helpful to have the default of the data on the page to be most recent on top rather than the bottom. That way I don’t have to scroll to the bottom to see the latest. When I try to reverse the order of the list on my browser it cuts data out so that is not helpful.
Thanks
Hi Steve- It’s nice to see someone is actually looking at the data! Your request is reasonable, and you’re correct: sorting on the date column doesn’t actually reverse the order of the rows because it’s a numeric-sort, not a date-sort. I was aware of this issue and figured I’d address it when someone complained 🙂
There is no convenient way to reverse the ordering of rows of the table. To solve the problem, I’ve added a numeric column in position 1 which you CAN perform a numeric sort on. Give it a try. You have to click on the column heading twice to get it to reverse because the first click sorts it in ascending order, the second click sorts it in descending order.
People who are paying attention will have noticed that at 3.30 meters (10.8′) the secchi disk reading was shallow compared to average readings for this time of year. You’d expect such a secchi disk reading in mid-summer when algae is beginning to grow. I suspect the reason is due to suspended particles in the water column as a result of sediment introduced with spring runoff which has been significant this spring.
Mainemsl
I think you can forget about eating there as reservations for the whole season opened at midnight April 15 at midnight…and were overwhelmed by 15000 requests. Maybe next year.
Heh! You and a few other people have said the same thing. Reservations currently looking at 2018. Also appears to be rather expensive… no I’m not big on eating out to begin with, and when I do I rarely head for the most expensive place I can find. Oh well! I will still visit the place soon to check out the mill and dam. Expect pictures.
After reading about The Lost Kitchen and the restoration of the Freedom Falls Grist Mill, imagine what life on Clary Lake might be like now if a competent and conscientious developer had gotten their hands on the Clary mill.
Burson Malcolm
We’ve eaten there, and it’s pretty dam(n) good. But I think you’ll find a tour through the mill enlightening. Of course, the whole project involved more than $1M…which I think is a little more than PPM/AFA has or ever had available.
It’s encouraging that the Loons have nested once again this year. I hope Paul will take notice and adjust the dam gate to minimize any further lowering of the lake until the Loon chicks hatch. Here’s to good stewardship of nature!!!
Margaret A Fergusson
Yes! Please Mr. Kelley..please find it in your plan, whatever that is, to at least let this natural occurance play out…let’s show how responsible we humans can be…
And thank you, George, always keeping us informed of the technicalities and the natural wonders right in our back yard…you are a gem!
Eve Kinney
George, this is just terrific !! What a delightful sight to see again after all these years. I could watch this for every day. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. You are simply the best!
For what it’s worth, the remote VLC connection is only working for ClaryCam 3. I’ll debug the problem with the other cams when I have a little more time.
Burson Malcolm
Great news, George, and I completely agree that this reflects a growing interest in the work of the Association and its presence in the community.
And here it is, 2 days later and we’ve already gone from 104 to 110, only 9 shy of last year’s total and climbing. The new members include a first-time-ever member, the North Whitefield Superette! Many Thanks to Steve and Deedee!
Burson Malcolm
I think the “good faith effort” refers not to the mediation, but rather to the negotiations that took place last fall between DEP and the parties to come to an agreement on a Consent Decree that would get them out from under the NOV in return for repairs to the dam. It was to this end that they got the engineering assessments and tried to do major fund raising. I think it came to nothing because DEP/the AG’s office would not agree to Tony Buxton’s requested changes to the Water Level Order language.
I at first thought so too but concluded Madore was talking about the mediation because he followed that up by saying the NOV was issued, whereas the “good faith effort” you’re referring to happened AFTER the NOV was issued, in 2016. But it’s a moot point: DEP has repeatedly worked to bring about a settlement with Kelley and Smith, as has the Clary Lake Association.
Great picture of Bob Rubin and Cheryl Ayer, if I do say so myself.
Burson Malcolm
Susan did a great job. I particularly liked Kelsey’s comments, and how well that sounded as a description of the situation. Now the test will be what DEP does next.
This canoe has been reunited with it’s owner, Kelsie French’s nephew (sorry I forget his name). He bailed it out and paddled it home that same afternoon.
Eve Kinney
Karma is a bitch as we all know and he has done so many unthinkable things. Kelley has been a menace to all of us for to many years. We reap what we sow and it is about time he get his and then some. So many people have had to bear this injustice for far to long. I have no sympathy for this self centered man. Punishment comes in many different ways. I guess this is just one of many to come to him!
I know a lot of people feel the way you do Eve, and I can’t blame them. Part of me derives some satisfaction at seeing Kelley’s life fall apart, but I must remember what this is all about: I just want our lake back. Kelley losing his house doesn’t really help with that.
Eve Kinney
Oh sure, now let’s allow Kelley to argue his mute point to the Supreme Court. What a joke this is, if they allow this to continue. Just a total disgrace for all of us.
They’ve indicated their intention to take this to the Supreme Court from the very beginning. It isn’t clear however if the Law Court will take this case. We’ll see.
I also think it behooves us to think positively and don’t bleed before we’re shot!
Stephen Viti
As long as this debacle has been going on I think I’ll start stockpiling bandages.
Know anyone looking for a great deal on a currently overpriced former lakeside cottage?
Is everyone enjoying this brief? I’ve just re-read it (second time) while referring to numerous AR citations and I gotta say, AQF’s arguments have been admirably debunked and dismissed. Hat’s off to Attorney Scott Boak who clearly has a thorough and superior grasp of the elements of this case.
Stephen Viti
That was a good read, though it took two viewings to get through it. Let’s hope this gets us on our way to the way things were before Kelly came to town.
I have no doubt we’ll prevail in this battle. Kelley and Smith will rue the day they came to town.
Burson Malcolm
Thank you, George, a very cogent summary. It will be interesting to hear the oral arguments, when AAG Boak will have the opportunity to summarize and make a more forceful presentation than the bare recitation of facts. I’m mostly puzzled by the fact that the brief says very little about PK and who might actually “own” the dam.
Heh- well no question in my mind about who owns the dam 🙂
David
I would like to add my thanks to the Association Officers and Board for their efforts during the past year. Enjoy a football game!
David
Dec 14th update: The Geese and white “goose” have been hanging out front in the morning. We saw the white “goose” fly in this morning. It appears it is actually a Swan; either a whistler or Trumpet Swan. It is a beautiful bird when flying!
Yep. For some reason, after Connolly introduced your chart, he actually turned around and asked if David Hodsdon was in the room. I shook my head.
He also started his oral arguments by noting how nice it was so many people from the community showing an interest in these proceedings.
Ronnie Spann
George,
You are THE MAN! Thanks for all of your time and hard work tending to this lake fiasco. Hope to see you and Margaret this summer to celebrate. Ronnie Spann (Diane Grant’s son)
Hi Ronnie, thanks for the kudos. Really, the person to thank is Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak for putting together a great defense of the Water Level Order. All I’ve try to keep people informed and maintain public interest in this matter so it doesn’t get forgotten.
Your welcome Dedi, though really, it’s DEP and Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak who deserve the credit. All I’ve been doing is pushing a rope for the past 7 years 🙂
Sheppard Hobgood
Great to know that a special turtle (or it’s offspring) may reclaim it’s spot on a sunny log at the shallow end of the lake. The turtles were often found basking in the warm sun from the time I was six years old. I am 72 years old now. What a wonderful lake. Thanks for reclaiming it.
Hi Steve- I called the courthouse yesterday about 2 PM and there had been no appeal filed. I also heard recently from another source that Preti Flaherty no longer represents Aquafortis Associates LLC which is pretty much the Kiss of Death for an appeal: the chances AQF can find a lawyer willing to represent them in a Law Court appeal of the recent ruling are slim to none 🙂
I’m working on the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program in Maryland. Just wanted to ask about the two images which could be compared. Could you please share them with me? I see that it’s a gif format of the chart. I’m currently comparing the results of two months of Deep Creek Lake. But I’d be grateful for the info on February you’ve got. Need to see the changes and the probable dependence.
Thanks to everyone that made this possible. It is truly gratifying to see us reach the goal for purchase AND initial repairs of the dam in the time allocated to raising funds for the purchase phase. I am excited to see what our efforts hold for the future of the lake.
Stephen Viti
I must have missed previous reference to an Underground Storage Tank? What’s that about?
Yup. So it turns out there’s an old underground storage tank on the property, abandoned since the early 1960s. We didn’t learn of it until after we’d already started fundraising and after due diligence, concluded it was a non-issue and not a reason to change direction. As the land owner, it’s really Kelley’s responsibility to deal with it, but we know he’s not going to do anything about it. We’ve already made arrangements for it to be taken care of at no cost to us, once we own the property. We just can’t do anything about it before then. Interesting how the Trustee and the State are spinning it to make the Clary Lake Association look like environmental heroes in the eyes of the court! Along with the Water Level Order, it’s yet another deterrent to anyone else coming in and deciding they’d like to own a dam. I won’t say it’s a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing. It just is.
Thank you Karen. Yesterday was a delay, not a loss. The evidentiary part of the proceeding is over, it took longer than I had expected but Smith and Kelley failed to introduce any damning information. The court IS going to sell us the dam, the only question is how that sale is going to be structured. Either way, we’ll end up with the dam free and clear.
We spent the better part of the 4th of July working out the details of a settlement with Richard Smith, and arrived in court Thursday morning thinking there was an agreement to settle only to learn that Richard Smith and Aquafortis Associates LLC had backed out of the agreement. The details of the agreement and the reason for reneging on it are not relevant because there is no longer an agreement. Suffice it to say we expected a short and sweet hearing concluding with the Judge approving the transfer of the dam to the Clary Lake Association free and clear of encumbrances. That didn’t happen.
Annette Vandel
Hi George.
I contacted you previously letting you know we might be interested in moving to your area. Your dam problem has captured our attention and we have been following. We’re sorry the deal fell through to purchase the dam. Are there any plans to move forward or are you at a standstill?
Thanks,
Annette
THE DEAL DID NOT FALL THROUGH!!! We’re still on track to purchase the Clary Lake dam, it’s just been delayed a while. There will be oral arguments in a few weeks and then the Judge will rule on the sale. At this point there is little question whether the Judge will approve the sale of the dam or not, the only question is how the sale will be structured. Either way we’ll end up with the dam. We’ve waited 7 years, we can wait a little longer.
Annette Vandel
Thank you for your reply. We’re a little anxious about buying property on a lake that has had level problems involving legal issues for so long. We just want to keep informed.
Since the milfoil in Cobbossee almost certainly arrived on the propeller or hull of a boat that had been in an affected lake previously, we have the modest grace (??) that until we have normal water, nobody’s launching from the boat ramp.
Good question Steve. It turns out that judges often “rule from the bench.” Sometimes they’ve written a decision which they read it in court and then file, sometimes they just wing it without writing a decision. Perhaps in this case the reason the judge decided to rule in open court is because there are a lot of moving parts in this bankruptcy and the Judge wants to issue his ruling in person so he can address any lingering issues…. the sale motion has been vehemently objected to, both by Richard Smith and Aquafortis Associates, but also by the debtor himself: both Kelley and Smith took the stand and testified in opposition to the sale motion.
So I don’t see it as a bad thing at all, but I would caution everyone from reading too much into it.
Annette Vandel
My friends of Clary Lake,
I know tomorrow is the judge’s ruling on the dam. I have been following your story. We will be in Maine Oct. 8 to look at 98 N. Clary Rd. We don’t know what we will find but we have been praying about it and for your situation. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God tells us that
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We stand in agreement with you all that God has heard your cries for help and that he WILL heal your land.
We’ll be watching for the results of tomorrow’s hearing. Blessings.
Today’s the day Annette. Thank you for your blessings.
Annette Vandel
My dear friends of Clary Lake,
Yesterday I stood with you in agreement that God would hear our prayer and heal your land. Today I say, John 14:13
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
This is the first step in healing the lake, land, and wildlife. I am thrilled for you!
We are excited to come look at the property. Whatever we decide, congratulations! God is with you!
Annette and Stephen Vandel
Wynne Keller
So happy, congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on this!
Trudi
Yaaay!! Good work, George, et al!
Amanda Knight
About Time! So thankful for everyone’s hard work over those 7 years. It’s been sad to see this wonderful piece of heaven destroyed along with its wildlife. I can’t wait to see it back to its former glory! Congratulations!
It’s almost too amazing to believe after all this time! Congratulations to the CLA and all its patient and persevering members!
David
Thanks for all your efforts George. without your steadfast persistence we would not be where we are today!
Jack Holland
George, This is a GREAT ending ( and new beginning) to a long ordeal. Many thanks to the members and supporters of the CLA. Especially to you George for spearheading and diligently guiding us through the seemingly never ending process. Your leadership & dedication are very much appreciated. Thank you, the Holland family
Steve Cowles
It looks great and ready for repairs. Do we have any word from Linkel on being able to start this Fall or not?
I am going to come out the last week of November/first week of December to coordinate some construction on my property. I will likely also take care of the brush pile, feel free to stop by and enjoy the bonfire!
Hi Steve- Linkel Construction has every intention of getting on our project later this fall, and DEP is committed to seeing the lake level restored in time for the start of the upcoming open water season. We’re busy trying to pull all the pieces together to make it happen- permitting, money, etc.
Let us know when you’re planning on burning and we’ll round up some people to come help 🙂
I tell ya, it’s pretty sketchy underneath the red building. I was last under there back in 1995 when Art Enos bought the dam from Chester Chase and hired Ron Bourassa to make some repairs. I’ve been thinking the building would be nice for the Association to own, but seeing what it looks like underneath and what’s holding it up… Now I’m not so sure. Seems like more of a hazard than an asset. I wonder what Richard Smith’s plans are for it?
Steve Viti
Wondering what the Readers Digest version for the history of the building is. Did anyone actually live in it and why was it built on the dam?
Well originally I understand it was to house men working at the Clary Mill. Albert Boynton was born in that read building back in the early 1920’s. Albert lives diagonally across the road from the dam in a white cape. More recently, Chester Chase used it as a real estate office back in the 70’s and 80’s then as some point he sold it to his nephew Stephen Smith (Jr.) who used it for a law office. It was sold by Smith to Pleasant Pond Mill LLC in 2006, around the same time PPM bought the dam.
Peter Brush
I stopped at the dam for a quick look the other day and was curious if the area just above and to the left of the pipe was the only area of concern, or if a more thorough tuckpoint/rehab was going to be required before the dam would be able to withstand the expected water forces on the upstream side of the dam.
There is no deadline for repairs Steve. We have all the time we need. Maybe I didn’t understand your question? Cold weather really isn’t a problem, the contractor pours concrete all winter with more or less heat applied depending on the temperature, so it really is about waiting for low enough water. We’re shedding a LOT of water and if we can get a couple of weeks without much rain, we’ll be all set. We’re still hoping to have repairs completed before the end of the year.
Building a cofferdam between the narrow gauge railroad abutments would allow us to finish the repairs NOW and we asked Richard Smith for permission to do that, but he has chosen to be uncooperative. Apparently, he’s more interested in thwarting our repair efforts than helping us restore controlled outflows. That’s OK. We’ve waited 7 years, we can wait a little longer. Success is assured.
Eve & Doug Kinney
Amazing crew and a job well done. Thank you to all of the crew of PCS Construction and a very Merry Christmas to all !!!
I checked the lake level impact after closing the gate yesterday, skiing out to the marshland today about 3:00p.m. The moon was rising with the lady’s graceful face approving of all that we’ve done for the lake. The distance to the marsh/channel entry gave me time to take in the hibernating lakeshore cottages, feeling the coming joy at having their lake back in the Spring. Weather was moving in from the West-Southwest, high cirrus cloud and blue sky retreating in the Northwest, graduating to a dense yellow-gray status cloudbank hiding the setting sun. Classic sign of weather front…easy to predict rain…lake rise coming.
I couldn’t detect any sign of changes in the lake level as I travelled West, staying well back from the channel, skiing over nutgrass (chufa…cyperus something-something) and sedge (genus carex) tufts. I noted very old cattail (typha latifolia) bones, years old, telling me that it’s been a long time since there was nourishment available.
By the time I got to the “junction”, that’s where the stream from the culvert on the Senott Rd. joins the main channel, I started seeing evidence of fresh flooding beneath the snow….clearly showing in the coyote tracks that were now filling with fresh vegetation-stained water. So were my ski tracks. I disrupted two Eagles (haliaeetus leuco-something), remembering that this area is a favorite nesting area…views in all directions.
The remaining stretch to the dam was a bit challenging….lots of slush under the snow and even skiing over the sedge grass and bushes didn’t keep the slush from eventually encrusting my skis. Clearly a great refilling of the lake, immersion of the parched marshland, and expanding channel boundaries. In this area the water has obviously stilled, as there was a thin skim of ice forming on the surface of the expanding channel, now becoming the wetland I knew, fifty years ago.
I considered the possibility of digging out the kayak and coming out on Sunday to celebrate the rise after the rain, knowing that the channel was now passable with the lake level up.
By the time I got to the narrow gauge abutment and the splendid pine that announces the end of the railbed, my skis were totally slushed, top and bottom, and beginning to ice up hard. I doffed them and with the aid of a scraggly oak tree (quercus borealis) and George’s tape measure I still had in my parka, pretty well scraped them down to the wax base.
Rather than risk re-slushing and really icing them up on a rigorous colder return trip…even planning to avoid all the slush, I skiied the railbed to the Post Office and headed home, shank’s mare.
The howling traffic, paralyzing headlights, smells of diesel fumes and tobacco wafting in the turbulence contrasted with the silent, pure, vibrant watershed witnessed just hollering distance to the North. Every couple of minutes in the near-darkness, I watched the rising moon in thin cloud, accompanied by first-magnitude Aldeberan.
It was such an honor to screw down the gate for the first time in the new era of our lake.
ccaissie
Kayak trip from the dam to the Clary Lake ice went nicely. Occasional ice floes were a bit hazardous, sometimes appearing as patches of floating debris, and necessitating a quick evasive move. The previous ice mostly remained bonded to the submerged marsh, about 18″-20″ down, but in some cases one edge rose to the surface to appear cantilevered out of the water.
I traced the deeper channel where my paddle didn’t hit ice, and skimmed over the blackness. I had forgotten how sinuous the channel is.
At one point I was searching for the channel and got myself into water that was barely deep enough, scraping the ice underneath almost getting stranded. This is the false cove that looks like the downstream channel course.
I saw the two Bald Eagles, and witnessed fish hitting the surface…what could they be after? Approached a solitary Barrow’s goldeneye duck who sped off and then circled me, and as I cornered a dozen Canada geese, they escaped towards me, missing me overhead by a few feet. I was concerned they might “dump ballast” on their takeoff, but I was only splattered by lake water.
Looking forward to making the sunny trip again Sunday around noon. This marshland trip could be as popular as the other Whitefield trails, and is certainly as pleasant a way to spend an afternoon. We could give it a name that promotes its beauty as a Whitefield Wildlife Wetland Winding Watercourse. I’ll check early Sunday to see if there’s a skim of ice that could make it difficult. If interested in making this trip Sunday, call me at 248-2201 for a condition report.
One would think that Fred Duncan and Richard Smith would have much better things to do with their lives than waste time and money !! This is a mute point already. Give me a break.
Update: As of this afternoon, the lake has risen 11 inches and is approaching 5 inches below the High Water Mark. I decided to open the gate to let out more water, but I suspect the lake will still over top the dam. Not a problem!
Steve Cowles
Can I request a picture to be posted when it over tops?
If I could be so bold as to ask you to take one from my property so I could see the mill pond side that would be really neat.
Again, thanks for maintaining this page. I really do look at it nearly everyday and geek out looking at the dam log.
You bet Steve! I’ll be taking ALL KINDS of pictures from all angles!
We received 1.66″ of rain last Thursday which has raised the lake level to within 6″ of over topping, but it looks like opening the gate yesterday slowed the lake level rise enough to keep it where it is for now. More snow and rain forecast for the middle of next week so we’ll have another chance. This time of year the plan is to try and keep the lake level between 12 and 24 inches below the top of the dam, not that over-topping is a bad thing, we just want to minimize ice damage to the shoreline around the lake.
And glad you like the dam log! I’ve been having a blast with it. It’s still a work in progress. Will be posting an article about it one of these days.
Malcolm
George, this is absolutely WONDERFUL to be able to see and visualize what’s going on with both the lake level, and the management scheme. Everyone owes you a great debt of thanks for getting this put together in such a visually informative way.
So George, does this mean you’re our Dam Master? Can’t think of anyone more suited to the task.
Thanks for all you do for us lakeshore owners and others.
We’re currently working on the Water Level Management Plan, a draft of which is currently being reviewed by DEP. We will soon be creating a standing “Dam Operations Committee” likely with 3-4 people on it that will be in charge of operating the dam, record keeping, and reporting to the Board. We’re still working up a committee description and list of responsibilities. One of our first “tasks” will be to work on an operations manual.
Steve Cowles
I will finally be moving to the area full time this summer. I might be interested in helping out with the Dam Operations Committee when I get there. Let me know if you will still need help.
I’ve enjoyed following the water level charts since we moved here, and appreciate all your work maintaining them, but agree it is not worth it to continue when we have these cool new automated charts which, while different, give us lots of interesting data to ponder. It is no longer depressing to go to the water’s edge and see where it is, it is a whole new adventure. Time to get ourselves a dock!
I don’t think I’m ready to retire the old charts just yet… sort of like a bad habit you just don’t want to give up, but their days are definitely numbered.
As for docks, well you and me both Wynne! Over the past 8 years I’ve gotten used to pulling my boat up “on the beach” and well, the beach is gone. So I too need a dock 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
Steve Viti
Wonderful George, just f—ing wonderful! Can’t wait to get the Shoremaster back in the water, fishing boat to follow!
For the past 8 years we’ve gotten used to the lake rising and falling 5 feet. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting excited about a 2 foot fluctuation, but we can try!
I’m not particularly happy to learn the crappie are thriving in Clary either! They are a detriment to our largemouth bass as they compete for the forage vital to help sustain our fishery.
It’s not the crappies fault but please do catch and NOT release these most recent illegally stocked critters.
The response to this post has been amazing. Clearly Arlene’s message has resonated.
Jane McGuire
I am glad you are on the mend. Prayers for complete recovery soon.
Jack
George is a true Hero to Clary Lake. Many thanks George for your past and ongoing dedication to the protection of Clary Lake !!!
David Hodsdon
You deserve nothing less George!
JULIE HEBDA
Our Loons on Lake Ann MI are using a floating devise which has worked for years. A huge storm broke it loose and it drifted across the lake. There are two eggs, but the Loons refuse to get back on their nest. Could they know that the eggs are not viable
Hi George. I cannot thank you enough for your unwavering efforts in this litigation. My mother is Diane Grant and my stepfather is Ed Grant. Just spent 2 weeks at our home on Clary Lake and the change is breathtaking. Thank you so very much.
Why thank you Bill, I appreciate the recognition, but we wouldn’t be here without the unwavering support of the Board and the Membership and the “Friends of Clary Lake”. And thanks for explaining who you’re related to! Ed Grant was a good steward of Clary Lake.
Stephanie Chamberlain
Margaret you and George have a wonderful Thanksgiving! So grateful for the work you two have done and the positive you put out into our community! 💜
Boy do I like having Margaret write for the website!!!
Malcolm Burson
Very well said, Margaret, and thank you.
Gareth Bowen
Thank you Margaret and thank you to all the Clary Lake Association leadership for all you have done this year.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a Fantastic New Year. 2021 here we come 😁. Looking forward to celebrating in person in ‘21.
Ellen R Dolce
Looking forward to more open and active times with you on Clary Lake. Wishing you all the best during the holiday season and beyond! 2021 can’t come soon enough!!!
Lee & Linda Prager
Thank you for the wonderful message, Margaret. We also really appreciate all the work the Association leadership has done and are very happy our lake is coming back too health. Hoping 2021 is a great year for all.
Malcolm Burson
Awesome collection of information, George. I doubt if very many lake associations have data this sophisticated to aid in water level management.
There’s a fair amount of water quality information available for most Maine lakes, but not a whole lot of hydrologic data- flows, areas, volumes, flushing and retention rates, etc. From a purely practical point of view, how important is it really? It’s certainly interesting and that’s enough justification for me 🙂
Jack Holland
George, Thank you for doing this. As you say, it is very interesting to look at. Well done, thanks again. Jack
Interesting is all well and good, but my goal real is education!
Jack Holland
George, Thanks for reminding everyone about the importance of releasing the Largemouth spawning stock. Now with the water level restored the likelihood of successful spawning rises and these large fish are paramount.
Ronnie Spann
Great shot. Wish I could’ve been there to see it in person!
I went out again today, just as good/fast/cold as yesterday. I took my camera but decided NOT to take another video. When you hit one of the deeper drifts, the snow has a tendency to go up your pant legs. Need to remember to tuck my pants into my socks 🙂
Tomorrow is looking ideal. Warmer, and somewhat less wind (10 mph).
I was able to find this episode on Spectrum’s On Demand service. Pretty cool! At one point, they showed my boat with me and my buddy Ron just offshore fishing. I remember being there that day and waving at the workers on shore.
Karen Stutzer
I thought that might be you. It was fun to watch the show. The camp looks awesome.
Well thank you Bill. I see part of my role as a Steward of Clary Lake is to educate people (as I educate myself) about the lake and what makes it tick. Sometimes it is as simple as posting a picture of a loon, or a sunset. Sometimes it can get pretty technical.
It’s been suggested that squirrels *like* cayenne pepper so I may need to find another solution. Perhaps the petroleum jelly will be unpalatable enough to keep the squirrels, or mice, from chewing on the antenna!
I’ve been in touch with the State Entomologist Tom Schmeelk. He thinks that trapping Browntail Moths is an ineffective method of control because he says that it is mostly male BTM that are attracted to light and the females mostly hang out on the host foliage near the light and wait for the males to arrive. He also points out that beneficial insects would be collateral damage. He doesn’t offer any alternative solutions to the problem however.
I did watch the Clary Lake 4th of July Boat Parade on Sun at 2:00. I was not on my deck with flags, whooping and hollering this year but I appreciated it nonetheless. Thank you to the great patriots who braved the weather to display their love of country!!
We opened the gate 1 foot today to hasten the return to more normal water levels. We’re anticipating additional rainfall in the next week. When the lake has fallen to the top of the dam we’ll close it again.
The lake level has fallen to the top of the dam and we’ve closed the gate. I doubt the drought conditions are over and we might as well preserve as much water as possible going into August.
Kate Seba
Would like to be on the proxy mailing list, please.
They’re there Kate, I redesigned the webcam page to fit on a smartphone screen. I may also get rid of the sidebar since it seems to interfere. There are more changes coming to the menus too. Here’s the link to the webcams: Clary Lake Webcams
No, that tidbit of trivia deserves to remain unsaid…
Jack Holland
George, GREAT job on the website, easy to navigate on my phone. Thanks to all involved in the installation of the hydrant, especially David Boynton to donate his time and equipment. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of visitors to CLA website:)
Yes, it was eye-opening for me when I learned about it. One would think the foam should form in lines parallel to the waves, not perpendicular to them.
Hiram Sleaster
Interesting, thank you for sharing the video on Langmuir Circulation. I love data.
Jack Holland
George, Thanks for the video. I kept expecting to see a leaping Salmon swimming up & over :):) Maybe even a bear trying to catch in mid air 🙂 any chance of photo shopping one in to add to the action???
George Fergusson
Clary Lake Association
I have a home on Clary Lake in Whitefield Maine and I am a member of the Clary
Lake Association. We are deeply concerned with protecting all Maine lakes and Clary
Lake in particular from the unwanted introduction of invasive plant and animal
species. For the past 3 years I have managed our Courtesy Boat Inspection program
and we are developing plans for an Invasive Plant Program for Clary Lake. I strongly
support LD 1826 because it will help protect those lake values by bringing together
diverse stakeholders and agency staff who are already working hard to move invasive
species risk-reduction programs forward.
Thank you.
George, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Below are my comments that have been sent to the committee:
I am writing in support of LD 1826. I am a resident of Jefferson, a member of the Clary Lake Association and a homeowner on Clary Lake. The need to address and combat the spreading of invasive plants and invasive marine species is paramount in Maine. I have witnessed the problems with invasive species all around the country and the unfortunate results when not addressed in a timely manner. Please support LD1826 . Thank you, Jack Holland
Boy, two days of high winds have really hammered the ice cover on Clary Lake. I’ve never seen it disappear so fast. 5 days ago there were people fishing. Today, I’m guessing 80% or more of the ice is gone.
Malcolm Burson
Gee, I dunno. If it comes back, try calling “Nessie, Nessie” and see if it responds.
They are popular. I don’t honestly know how many people view them “live” because those register as “clicks” and not page views. Page views generate statistics, clicks don’t. There were 3,835 views of the Webcams page in 2021 or roughly 10 times a day, every day. The Live Cam site generates traffic graphs suggesting the cams are viewed live several times per day, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Ronnie Spann
You have alot more patience than I do with the computer equipment! Glad you’re in charge and not me!!!
Jack Holland
Great photo
David Knight
Coincident?
About that same time we had a rainbow in the trees to the ground between the shore and our house on Hodsdon Lane.
Dave and Gayle Knight
Donna
Love this!!!
Ronnie Spann
Wish I could send you some rain from Louisiana. We get rain every day, so much that it’s hard to find a day when you can mow your yard!
I’ve notified DEP, they may decide to take some samples to test for cyanotoxins.
Carolyn Curtis
Oh this is sad news. I’m sure all of us will do whatever we have to do to prevent these algae blooms from becoming a common occurrence. Thanks for keeping us informed!
It’s very unpleasant. The only good news so far is that according to Linda Bacon at DEP, there are no microcystin poisons associated with the bloom. Small consolation, but it’s something. At least we don’t have to worry about our pets being poisoned. I suppose that could change in the future.
David Knight
Saw it from Hodsdon Lane. Nice and clear.
Donna Roeckel
What a gorgeous photo!
Ronnie Spann
Thanks George for all the hard work you do for the Clary Lake Association. Sorry I missed you this September. Ronnie
You’re welcome Ronnie. I’m hoping that with this server change, I’ll spend less time on droll administration tasks and more time on fun lake-related stuff!
David Knight
Sorry to have missed it.
Had I known, I would have been up on graveyard hill watching.
Ah, you mean Phosphorus? Hard to say. I’d like to think a high flushing rate this time of year is a good thing, but actually, lakes with generally high flushing rates tend to have higher concentrations of Phosphorus and lower water quality because high flushing rates correspond to high runoff rates and that’s where a lot of the Phosphorus comes from. In the past, drought conditions (low flushing rates) in summer have tended to favor good water quality in Clary Lake. Except for last year, where we were in drought all summer and evaporation took a foot of water out of the lake, concentrating nutrients and leading to the worst algae bloom anyone can remember.
There are a lot of factors at play, and how they interact makes a big difference. Fascinating.
Ronnie Spann
I have tried to enter April 1, 2023 twice with no luck. Please enter me into the contest.
Nice picture Steve. I saw 7 Loons on the lake last week in 3 groups and a boater reported seeing 8 or nine all together yesterday while I was on CBI shift.
Excellent report/update on the meeting.
I’m sure Gayle and Melissa will be honored by the attention.
The lunch following was a lot of fun as well with Margaret, Melissa, Gayle, Linda Gallion. and Jeanette Hodsdon who created their own shopping game. King Arthur Flour?? Really? :-))
Beth Young
I tried to contact Cheryl Willis asking whether the dock is still available. Our camp is off of the Duncan Road and can come this afternoon or tomorrow, if it’s still there.
Thanks Jack, I put some time into writing it. I’m going to hit up the people on our CBI list. I’ll bet most of them will want to help with the Survey.
Jack Holland
George, great informative article. Yes, informed lake shore owners and those within the watershed are our current and future Steward’s, the more we know & understand the better. Thanks
Ronnie Spann
Well said. Glad you reposted it!
David Knight
Great article.
Had fun playing with the chart.
Looks like it might be easier to win the “Ice Out” contest. :-))
Yes, I forgot to mention that if you hover your mouse over a data point (or touch it on your phone or tablet) you can see the data itself. That actual chart will update when I enter a ice-in date later this month because it’s a “live” published graphic from a Google spreadsheet.
For what it’s worth, we’ve never held an ice-in contest…
Thank you for the invitation. We hope to be there with a munchie in tow.
Chris and Karen Stultz
Carolyn & Paul
Great idea! We will plan to be there unless there’s a blizzard!
Cheryl A Willis
Thanks for the invite my son and I would love to attend.
Cheryl and Jared Willis
Jack Holland
George, shadow of the trees looks like a large crack in ice. A friend said 4″ on Damariscotta lake today with fishermen out there. Joe is over near fryberg ice camping & fishing. He said they have 8″ there & good fishing. Thanks for the pictures
David Knight
People fishing close to our shore today off Hodsdon Lane.
Stephen Viti
Seeing the shadow of your webcam on the snow couldn’t help but remind me of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 TV show with it’s wisecracking robots.
There’s only one valid guess for April. Everyone else’s guesses are in March. That’s saying something.
Paul BartoN
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. IT IS APPRECIATED.
Malcolm
So far as we know, none of these species has been found in Clary Lake. However, we keep a watchful eye for hitch-hikers on boats coming into the lake, with our courtesy inspections at the Jefferson boat launch every summer weekend. More volunteers would be welcome to take part!
Saw those stations while camping last few years. Some are miles away from the lakes shorelines, taking no chances of any invasive getting close. My niece lived on a lake in Vt. She volunteered at a wash station that had hot water pressure washing in a lot across from boat ramp.
Danny Bell
Love it! Great to see, and thank you and all the folks at the association for doing good work. The algae bloom researchers were all over it today. Great work!
Dave Knight
Yes, we could use several more inspectors.
We will hook you up with the basic on-line tutorial that you can do at home. Then, we’ll be happy to schedule you to spend at least one 2 hour shift with an experienced inspector or until you are comfortable with the process. One or more of us are always available if you have questions or need help.
Required gear is a lawn chair, sunglasses and coffee or soda!! :-)) And of course, your I-phone.
Heck–we’ll even get you one of our really cool “COURTESY INSPECTOR” t-shirts.
Dave
When the fireworks started, I counted 16 boats on the water 🙂
Julie Anderson
Unfortunately I will be out of the state at the time of this event. Disappointing, as I had planned on it with enthusiasm.
Enjoy everyone. I hope we can plan another event like this.
Family reunion that weekend. Won’t be able to join but would have loved to since I have 686 ft on the marsh and have never been out to actually see it other than in the winter time when everything is frozen over 🙁
What a great video! Where did you find it? Very interesting subject matter. We have something similar down south where we catch loads of shad for crawfish bait every spring. Boatloads of shad at a place called Alligator Bayou.
Glad you liked it Ronnie! I was talking with someone about Alewives the other day and of the prospects of getting them into Clary Lake and what that might mean for our lake. They recommended the video to me. We tend to think of Clary Lake as an isolated environment when in fact it’s really part of a bigger picture. We’re part of the Sheepscot River watershed but I know I for one don’t often think of it that way.
He has shared and I’ve enjoyed some great fishing stories over the years. I believe Tom & Ed Grant were instrumental in Largemouth Bass being introduced to Clary Lake. They were great fishing buddies and loved Clary Lake. When they wanted a good fish fry, they went to Somerville Long Pond to harvest fish.
Indeed it was. He was a life long steward of Clary Lake, a good friend, and a generous patron of the Clary Lake Association.
Scott MacKenney
Bethie and I have done a lot of tree work for Tom and Delph over the years. I’m glad to have had the privilege of knowing him. He left me with a pearl not long ago, “Good people know good people.” I’m sad to hear that he’s gone. Cheers Tom.
Dave Knight
What a fun guy to talk with.
Delph Gillette
Dear George, how kind you were to write such a lovely article about Tom. Thank everyone for sharing their memories of him. Best wishes, Delph
Delph, please accept my heartfelt condolences for your loss. You’re in all our thoughts. I’m working on some additional comments I’ll post along with his obituary in due time.
Ronnie Spann
Tommy Gillette was my uncle. He used to take me fishing with him back in the 50’s and 60’s on False River in Baton Rouge,LA. We would rent a bateau (small Jon boat) and get his 3.5 horsepower outboard from his trunk of his car. Boat rental was $1per day back then! He is the one who instilled my love for fishing, and he will forever be in my heart for taking the time to teach me the ropes of fishing. Of course, I (my mother) had to pay for 1/2 of the gasoline for the trips! That was Tommy’s way, as all who knew him could attest!!! I will miss you very much Uncle Tommy. Love, Ronnie
Leslie, I know you really cared about this person. How special he must have been to and for you! Sorry, he will be missing from your life. Cousin Dorothy
christopher stultz
We are planning to attend.
Greg Briggs
Karren and I plan on attending and look forward to seeing everyone.
Dave Knight
George–you’re such a selfless hero!!
If Carolyn can’t buy you one,, We will!! :-))
Dave and Gayle Knight
Well, it is nice to hear something. the KJ article might prove to be quite interesting!
So the wheels of government rotate slowly,
Claryview
Love your avatar. It looks so dignified. Mine is a picture of me when I was 18.
I agree David. I gave the reporter your name as well, and Ellis Percy’s too. He was absolutely certain the paper would run a story but with him investing so much time into it, I’m pretty sure they will.
Also, congratulations on being the first to register, and the first to leave a comment!
George-
They’ve recorded 0.56″ of rain so far in this storm, and it looks like it’s about over. If it freezes up quickly there might be some skating 🙂
There have been a few inquiries about avatars… you know, the little picture that is supposed to identify you on your comments. As soon as I figure this out, I’ll post something.
OK, perhaps from the little picture beside my name you might surmise that I’ve got avatars figured out. I have. Here’s the scoop.
That little picture is a 40×40 pixel jpg. Once upon a time, when blogging was brand new, users wanted to associate a picture with their posts. They would upload their own little picture to each site that had the ability to attache an avatar to a post or comment, which in the beginning wasn’t too many sites. And of course they all had different requirements as to size, etc. As the number of sites grew, so grew the headaches associated with managing all the avatars. So “they” came up with a scheme to standardize on avatars and centrally manage them on a single site and then when a blog wanted someone’s avatar to associate with their post, they would request it using the user’s hashed-email address as a code. Simple. Elegant. So all the blogosphere started to adopt this scheme. It simplified coding and made life easier.
So the site that was setup to create, manage, and disseminate avatars is called Gravatar.com for “Globally Recognized Avatar.” And this is the first I ever heard of it.
So here’s the deal. It doesn’t cost any money and you can have as many avatars as you want associated with any number of email addresses. Go to http://www.gravatar.com and set up and account. They’ll mail you a link to log in with- you then choose a username and password, and upload a picture from your hard drive and they’ll resize it for you. And that’s it. Your new avatar will automatically show up on any blog site you comment on that uses Gravitars, assuming you give them the same right email address. You can also have multiple addresses by the way, and multiple avatars.
Now, the users of WordPress have written various hacks to get around the use of Gravatars that revert to the old original scheme of having users upload their own avatars to the site, and I may look into one of these schemes later but for now I’m going to implement the Gravatar scheme on the site.
I will probably put this comment in a page for future reference.
May be possible that an article in the KJ will help to ” stir the pot”
Looks like the lake could be smooth for ice boaters & skaters with a re-freeze. I’m sure there will be some weak spots with all the runoff entering.
Well I think some public pressure on the Department can’t hurt Jack. They’re well aware of the growing frustration and impatience of the petitioners and other interested parties. As Thomas Gillette said recently to me in an email, “justice delayed is justice denied.” I strongly agree.
As for possible ice skating, I can’t wait! I got out just once back in December on a day that was so cold it made my teeth chatter. Here’s hoping.
It will be so nice to see the water level back up to where it should be. Hopefully the story gets published soon. One can only imagine what this has done to the fish and wildlife…
Hi Skip, and welcome to the site!
I agree it will be good when the lake is back normal, but I expect with the petition process temporarily stalled, it will be a while. Processing will resume eventually. Thanks for taking an interest in Clary lake!
I now have good reason to believe that the Attorney General is NOT involved in review of this matter, so I don’t know what to say.
Very interesting comment on the condition of the “wetlands.”
Wise move on your part to contact Chris Johnson. Maybe, just maybe we will be able to put a boat in this coming summer!
Thanks- I’ve been in touch with Chris off and on since the public hearing. Deb Sanderson had taken an interest in this matter but I haven’t heard from her in quite a while.
While there is no telling what DEP will come up with for a decision, there’s nothing really substantive in the motion to dismiss so I can’t imagine the Department will rule in favor of the motion. Nonetheless I will be sitting on pins and needles for the next few weeks 🙂
We are waiting, and luckily not holding our breath, up here in the Northeast corner of the marsh. At least the news of today is encouraging. Good job on keeping up the pressure – we’re not going away.
I want to add my thanks for the efforts of Senator Chris Johnson. He has taken his public service role most notably and seriously where the Clary Lake petition is concerned. During this ‘silent’, seemingly unproductive and frustrating period, he continues to pay attention and ask for accountability.
It goes without saying, though I’ll say it anyway, that George Fergusson is to be commended for his un-relenting, if not long-suffering efforts where our beloved lake is concerned. It’s these local acts of nobleness and steadfastness that can give us heart for the even larger work that we are called to do in our lives.
A couple of great guys!!
To add a little perspective, the 360 deg panorama was heavily cropped for internet transmssion. The full-size image is 27859 x 5765 pixels or 116″ long by 24″ high!
That’s big. I’d be interested in seeing a larger version of the 360° panorama, perhaps about 600 pixels high.
Jack Holland sent me this update on the Proposed Soft Baits Legislation.
KeepAmericaFishing™ needs you to send another message today to the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife asking them to oppose the bill to ban soft baits! At the very least the Committee needs to establish a study process to determine the real facts regarding the impact of soft baits on fish.
The Committee will have a work session regarding the ban on soft baits on Tuesday, February 19th. At the end of the work session the bill could be recommended for passage, recommended to not pass, pass with modification or a study committee could be formed to further investigate the need for the bill.
Please send a personalized message today to the Committee urging them to oppose this bill.
George, you deserve a break! Continuing through the winter is definitely above and beyond.
By the way, thanks for posting the panorama of the curve in the stream. It came out much better than I anticipated
David
It came out very nicely. I wish there was a way I could provide picture credits for the random banners but I don’t think it’s an option!
Pingback: 21 February 2013: Resumed Water Level Measurements, Etc. | Clary Lake Association
Great news, George! It’s about time!
Yes!
This is fantastic news, even to the extent that we have no way of knowing ‘who is thinking what’ and how the outcome will look. After five months of waiting… without a word…things are moving. Ah, the ‘wheels of progress’….
Here’s a thought…let those of us who care about this issue, have some compassion for others who have plights with environmental issues and bullies…and yes, let’s have some compassion for ‘those wheels’….perhaps not turning to our liking or on our timetable…yet turning nonetheless!
Thank you, George, for all your dedication to this effort and another special thanks to Chris Johnson…really stepping on behalf of his constituency!
Quite a few interesting comments on the KJ web site!
Getting the results of the Bathymetric survey will be most interesting!
It is unfortunate that that the lake is being drained in such an arbitray way. A more friendly and responsible approach would be to make temporary repairs of the hole in the dam and the allow the lake to raise to a more beneficial level, such as 18 to 30 inches below the top of the dam. This might lead to better relations between the dam owner, the lake shore owners, and other users of the lake.
Yes- I am particularly interested in seeing how they decided to model the 300+ acres in the northwest end of the lake, and how the new model changes the minimum flows and maximum annual fluctuation. Recall that the meadows at either end of the lake were completely drained at the time of the survey- and remain completely drained today.
Kelley has given no indication that he’s the least bit interested in better relations so I don’t expect Kelley to repair the dam until forced to do so in order to comply with a Water Level Order. Until then, based on previous behavior I expect Kelley’s plan is to keep the lake low enough such that any foreseeable rain event will not result in the water level rising up to or above the hole in the dam, which is somewhere around 36″ below the top of the dam. A water level management plan based on this criteria is inconsistent with the requirements of the wetlands and wildlife habitat, and the needs of the general public. So I think we can look forward to unreasonably low water levels until the Department issues a water level order which should be sometime this coming summer. Then we’ll see what happens.
That is quite a picture. I’m bringing my beef cattle out tomorrow to graze.
Tenacious – word of the month. Thanks George.
Nice to have you commenting Sue 🙂
Well it appears the comet was too faint to see tonight until the sun was far enough below the horizon and by that time it was too low in the sky to pick out. Will try again tomorrow, perhaps from a different location. On the 12th it will be right beside the crescent moon and will be (relatively) easy to spot.
Well we won’t be seeing the comet tonight with the rain storm we’re expecting. Hopefully the weather will clear later this week. I think the comet is moving away quickly so if we can’t catch a glimpse in the next 3-4 days it will be too late.
George, as always, thank you for keeping us informed. Your ‘natural’ and acquired expertise on all the matters concerning our much loved lake is beyond impressive; and your steadfast, if not ‘religious’ machinations around measurements, observations, photographs and commentary are absolutely remarkable. I know I speak for everyone who cares about this lake…about the environment…about our way of life here on the lake, when I say a most sincere thank you. The community is most fortunate to have you as a partner, and so am I!! Stuart ‘is’ quite impressed too!
There is no question I am following in my father’s footsteps. Those who knew him have told me so!
Thanks for posting that David. I’ve become convinced that a lot of the “missing water” in our lake level fluctuation calculations can be accounted for by inflow from springs.
I’ve got 3 fairly productive springs right adjacent to my shoreline, one of which has been open since mid-January. It has made making water level measurements easier than it was shoveling snow and chopping a hole in the ice. Here are links to pictures of the spring holes:
https://clarylake.org/Winter%202013/target14.html
https://clarylake.org/Winter%202013/target15.html
https://clarylake.org/Winter%202013/target16.html
The second one is the same spring hole I photographed last December when the ice was forming:
It too has been open since mid-January.
Some of you will remember me writing last fall about outflow rates and orifice diameters and such and complaining that for all the water flowing out through the open gate, the lake wasn’t falling fast enough by a factor of almost 2. You can review that discussion in the 2012 News page for November and December.
Well in a classic example of mission-creep, what started out as a “rudimentary, non-automated mechanism” has turned into an fully automated web cam system which updates with a new image every 2 minutes. I happened to find some functional free software and thought “what the heck.” The image out my office window is pleasant enough but looking northeast through the trees, it doesn’t really show much of the lake; you can make out some of the houses and camps over on the Duncan Road.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for a good wireless web cam that I can mount down on the shore.
Happy to report that Sue McKeen was re-elected to the Whitefield Planning Board.
After the last snow storm I spotted open water over on the other side of the lake, by the end of the Duncan road. Doug Kinney confirms there has been a strip of open water there for a while that keeps getting bigger. Springs might contribute to this phenomena but I think it is more but it is more likely an effect of the flow of water towards the outlet speeding up a little and becoming more turbulent when it passes over the shallows off the point. This is due to the so-called “venturi effect”, a phenomena usually associated with automobile carburetors and pipes but it also applies to the laminar flow of water around obstructions in streams, rivers, and ponds. Duncan point both extends out into the lake a ways and the water is quite shallow off the point- both are in effect obstructions to the water as flows from the primary inlet by Route 126 towards the outlet; it has to pass by and flow around the point and over that shallow rocky bottom. This would cause a speed up of the flow of water and introduce turbulence- both of which would tend to prevent the formation of ice, or hasten it’s melting.
I’m recovering from a cold. When I’m better I want to go over and measure the velocity of the water, and take some pictures. Because I can.
It was a nice enough day and I felt well enough to take a quick drive over to visit with Doug Kinney briefly, and check out the open water. There is indeed quite a bit of open water extending from well around the point into the cove over by Brent Duncan’s place. I made this hasty panorama photograph:
This shoreline also has the benefit of the sun beating in on it, being protected on the north by trees. This would also contribute to early melting, though I think other factors mentioned above play a larger role. On my side of the lake, we’re always the last to go out with ice often lingering several days after it’s cleared of the rest of the lake.
More impressed with this Photo Gallery system as I get to understand it. Very powerful set of functions, but somewhat poorly documented. Programmers shouldn’t write documentation 🙂
Subscribers to the site will soon be able to upload picture with descriptions. They’ll initially be sequestered until I get a chance to check them out. You can test this feature if you want on the Test Gallery page.
Well one intrepid subscriber took the challenge and uploaded a picture! It now appears in the Public Uploads Gallery.
The following comments were posted on the Association’s Facebook page- I think they’re right on:
“I think that if Mr. Duncan and similarly inconvenienced landowners were compensated appropriately for their (involuntary) stewardship, that pill would be a lot easier to swallow. Does it benefit the greater society to maintain and preserve wetlands, even though it means the individual landowner can no longer use the land they own as they wish? Yes. Is it a pain in the ass to that landowner? Yes. Should that landowner be somehow compensated? Yes. Will that compensation, properly administered, make it a badge of honor for a landowner to steward lands that benefit the common good with no direct economic benefit to the direct owner? Hopefully.
This is not actually a difficult problem to solve, philosophically — tax abatement or rebate, some sort of land trust dividend to owners of land held to be sacrosanct, some form of direct or indirect compensation… the only issue is the source of funds and the will to disburse them.”
I just read the LCN interview w/Butch Duncan. I’m a little baffled by his reference to jobs in relation to the water level. What jobs is he referring to? Also to set the record straight. I certainly am not concerned about smell, dock placement or any other thing except for the sadness I feel every time I look out on the marsh. Particularly this time of the year when the water used to sparkle and the geese and ducks would land in the marsh on their way back home. I think most of us on the lake feel this same sadness – and frankly I’m angry too.
Sue- I’ve said about all I intend to say about this. He thinks we need more farm land? I think we need more fish!
I sent off a letter to the editor today that I assume will appear in this week’s paper. I’m moving on. Nice to have you comment.
Hi George. Gayle and I noted,our end (east) was about 70% covered at 4pm April 1st. By 6:30 it was completly gone. (Probably the eastery wind pushed it to your end) We are calling that “Ice-Out Day 2013”. The ice is out. Let’s go boating!!!! ————-“April Fools!!”
I’ve still got a good sized flow snug up against my shore. After last year’s horrible embarrassment of my mis-calling the ice out date… never again. David Hodsdon makes the official call! 🙂
Ice looks to be out now!
I, for one, certainly hope that there is no stay issued on the water level petition proceedings. It’s been over seven months since the public hearing was held…..far too long as it is!
Gotta say I agree Mary. The main reason cited why they might stay the water level petition proceedings was to give the dam owner time to find parties interested in taking over the dam. I think that’s a VERY SHORT LIST with the Clary Lake Association already right at the top.
I am in complete agreement with the consensus that the ice has gone out completely on April 3, 2013. We are now free to roam all around the lake, if we can find a way to put our boats in!!!
David
It’s official! Ice-out 03 April 2013. I’ve updated the Ice-in and Ice-out Record.
OK, so it’s going to be a few days before I send in my comments as I’ve decided to rethink how to handle a few things. Stay tuned.
Looks like the lake level recommendations are headed in the right direction to preserve the sensitive wildlife habitat and enjoyment of the lake for all!
Yes David! The initial minimum flows recommendation specified a maximum draw down of 2.7′ so going to 2′ is a move in the right direction. But I’m a little confused as to how they arrived at it given what I know of Chapter 587 and the issues that exist with the new bathymetric survey.
I also make note of the statement:
“Recommended within basin water levels are protective for the maintenance of suitable Water quality, resident fish and Wildlife habitat, and prevention of shoreline erosion. However, it is quite apparent that significant dewaterlng of valuable Wetland habitat will result in the vicinity of the outlet stream, above the dam.”
So it appears the 2′ refers to water levels within the BASIN of Clary Lake and they acknowledge that at that level of draw down, significant dewatering of wetlands will occur. I’m confused.
Sigh. The comment system on KJonline is broken. Nobody has commented. I can’t comment.
George, can you explain the Aug 1st date? Wasn’t the petition recently filed? If it’s not complete according to DEP I’m confused again about the date. Thanks.
Erf. Good catch. Typo. I meant April 1st. I’ll edit it now.
Fitting, or perhaps ironic that Pleasant Pond Mill filed their petition notice on April Fools day?
Also, according to the statute, the 60 days starts counting from when the notice of intent to file the petition is given, not when the petition is actually accepted by the Department as complete. This is perhaps an oversight by the Legislature.
Sept 1st seems like a long way off. Perhaps it’ll be 2014 before there’s enough water to float my boat and warrant putting in my dock? I know this stuff takes time but I had my hopes up for a summer closer to the way I’ve known it for the past 20 years.
Steve- there is a reason for the long time line outlined in the statutes, but there is no reason to believe that the water level petition will be put on hold for the duration. On the contrary I think the Department intends to process them concurrently to the greatest extent possible so more pressure will come to bear on Kelley to get rid of the dam as the water level petition proceeds. Also, I think the Department will try and expedite Kelley’s petition processing as much as they can. Kelley has some discretion in the scheduling of things and I don’t doubt for a second he will try and drag things out as much as the law will allow regardless of whether he’s earnestly trying to find a new owner for the dam, or merely stalling for time.
The Department is well aware of the fact that the Clary Lake Association has made offers on the dam and is still interested in owning it and I think they will take a dim view on Kelley’s wasting everyone’s time while availing himself of every opportunity afforded him by the statues to “look for a new owner” when there is one ready, willing, and available to take over the dam. They are also well aware of the fact that Pleasant Pond Mill LLC does not own the flowage rights. Will the Department rule that Aquafortis Associates must be made part of the petition or will they simply throw the petition out? I anxiously await their ruling on this.
So for now I will give Kelley the benefit of the doubt and play along with this latest dog and pony show he’s orchestrating. Despite his assurances to me personally, I don’t think he’s got any real intention of selling the dam to anyone for the cost of preparing and recording a deed. There has been no discharge of the mortgage recorded at the Lincoln County Registry of Deeds so the assumption is he still owes Art Enos money for the dam and probably a good deal of money at that. He’s either got to get enough for the dam to pay off the note or he really can’t afford to sell it.
HI was called into to assess the hydro potential of the site by Charlie Baeder., who was then the director of the Sheepscot river trust about 2 years ago. Charlie had the bright idea of acquiring the hydro power rights and using their leverage as a non-profit, to acquire grants to hydro seal the dam, repair the fore-bay, build a naturalistic fish way, and divert a port of the spillover into a small hydro generator with power going into the grid, unless they could org. a small rural electric coop. and sell the power to it. Sheepscot got the area on the other side of the dam designated as a protected salmon habitat.
The owners were two developers from Boston who tried to get area rezoned so they could restore the mill into a mixed business/residential complex, and preserve the orig. mill house. I heard they paid $40k for the dam 🙂
When I visited the site, two feet of water was overflowing the granite block dam; and spurting through cracks about 10’….pretty spectacular, but the dam’s apparently been like that for a long time, and hadn’t moved off its base–note FEMA assessment.
Obviously, you know the rest; Charlie’s solution was rejected in favor of legal appeals which they apparently lost. Charlie now runs the Penobscot River watershed association and perhaps you should contact him for his view of it.
My assessment was written up and basically, they stored up a lot of water in the fore-bay over night and weekend and ran a lot of it though a 3′ pipe down to the generator house with twin 67 KW GE(?) generators. Rumor has it they really drop the level of the Pond during dry periods. I roughly figured they could run a 10 KW power plant, and still have enough water for a small fish-way. This would have to be calculated again, esp. with the DEP estimates of flowage at diff. times of the year.
A sluice and pelton turbine would run about $5k(informed guess)
If you want to chat call me at 729 6090.
Hi Frank. Thanks for the information. The two Boston businessmen you referred to paid more like $60,000 for the dam making it an even more stupid investment, if that is possible. They now refer to the dam in correspondence as the “breached dam which formerly impounded Clary Lake (Pleasant Pond)”.
There is incidentally zero interest in a fish ladder for Clary Lake. The DMR periodically stocks Clary with Alewives which spawn and make their way back into the Sheepscot River, enhancing their population but they’ve never had natural access to Clary Lake, ever and we see no reason for them to start now. Clary will not support trout or salmon. So why a fish ladder?
However, I see no reason why the owners of the mill building and property below the dam couldn’t repair their mill pond dam so they could store up water leaving the lake (which at certain times of the year can be considerable) and generate electricity till the cows come home. But it appears they’re way beyond thinking about doing anything that sensible.
I will give you a call one of these days to chat.
Charlie Baeder brought into the fishway into the discussion, not me. I noted access—a well worn path and parking, for fishermen up from the dam so I assume they are fishing for only bass or brown trout or???
A fishway is a nice selling point for any presentation; finding a way to pay for it and annual maintenance is another matter.
That is a pretty steep drop from dam down to Sheepscot.. 75- 100′ making migration iffy. You could do eels; since they will migrate over grass or up a garden hose. Plant a lawn and call it an eel path?? and charge to take elvers out of the pond? Building a revenue producing fishery might be one means to the end of stabilizing the level of the pond and rebuilding the dam.
Maine’s hydrology varies enormously. The outfall to Cobbo. has 11 gates; at times all 11 are open; there is a ratio of 100:1 in flow rates.
Unless you can plan for a constant flow; the solution is to bank inexpensive generators…..and then gate water to each one as flow increases.
Didn’t know the dam breached….perhaps we can meet and go over the site again….Mid May, when I get back? How far down did the lake level go?
There is value in the Lignum Vita drive wheels under the mill building…if they are still there. Several Wooden bearing companies have contacted me re purchasing similar wheels. Turbines lining the field, not so much…..
Hi Frank-
We reached the default limit on nested comments (5) prompting me to increase it to 6 so I could leave you a comment! Perhaps we should continue this discussion via email. My email address is gsfergusson@clarylake.org
The dam “breach” is a hole about 12″ in diameter in the central cement “plug” in the middle of the dam, located about 36″ below the top of the dam so saying the dam is “breached” is a bit of a misnomer. The dam is still impounding water though the dam owner more or keeps the gate wide open in an attempt to keep the water level below about 40″ so as not to let water course through the hole, making it worse.
The lowest the lake has gotten was a year ago mid-April when it hit -62.5″ below the top of the dam. I think it can realistically drop as low as 6′ below the top of the dam.
I look forward to talking with you when you get back from wherever you are.
The latest episode of the not-so-popular “The Paul Kelley Show”.
He should “put a sock in it”. The dam, I mean.
Well I suggested he use a seat cushion.
The overall reaction to this latest LCN article has been negative, judging from remarks, public and private. Mr Kelley is not generating a lot of goodwill with his antics.
That eyeball is kind of creepy…
It not in today’s KJ…..at least not the home delivery version.
Nope. I spoke to Paul Koenig earlier in the week, he thought it would be in todays paper. Musta been bounced for all the marathon bomber coverage. Probably be in tomorrow’s paper.
Would you put a full size image of the leo & george sailing photo up on the site?
I’ll see what I can find! I was sailing the boat, Someone else took it and sent it to me.
I read through the baroque letter from Kelly from O’Neal @ PretiFlaherty. So there’s objection based in the idea that the info generated by the Bathymetric Survey is invalid because the “hearing and record” are closed.
We can see that Paul Kelley’s world is closing around his neck when he’s resorting to “arguing about the argument”. This rewsembles the Global Climate Change issue where deniers (those whose corporate interests are in jeopardy) are incapable of refuting the science, and are fighting a controversy battle that only delays and damages the real world.
I guess this is what the intellectual mind is capable of….. “proving” things one way or another, and remaining ignorant of the essence of the matter. His arguments completely ignore what this is actually about, and instead suggest where Mr. Kelley’s interests and motives are.
Most importantly, we are reminded of what is important regarding the health of our lake, and to remember that Mr. Kelley is “pouring from the empty into the void”. Sadly, In this crazy world, he could succeed if he’s “clever” enough.
Colin
Well thank you Colin for producing the first and likely the only serious comment on this matter. I have sat down to try several times but have been unable to write about it. Kelley’s “pouring from the empty into the void” leaves me with a head ache and I’m sure I’m not alone.
But I disagree on the possible outcome of his strategy. The only thing Kelley will succeed at doing is further alienating himself which is hard to believe considering how far down that road he’s already traveled.
When you can’t dispute the facts, you attack the process, the rules, the law. You claim it’s unfair, biased. Kelley has never been able to dispute the facts in this case and he certainly hasn’t started now with this rambling, incomprehensible diatribe. Ravaged ground in deed.
My dear sweet sage and scientist of a husband:
Well, I guess it’s accurate to say ‘you honor me’! I agree…it’s a great name for a boat (outside of any connection to me) in that it’s rather ‘cutsie’ and boat naming tends to travel in those sorts of channels… though not appropriate for a woman of my caliber (only kidding). Only my dear mother, sister Pat and a few other family members call me by that name. Everyone else chooses from the smorgasbord of labels as outlined in my email signature line. OK…enough of this…it’s not all that interesting! In any case, your choice in naming our boat does make me smile…and anything to remove the frown which sets in on my already wrinkling face, where Paul K is concerned face…is so welcomed. xo
p.s. too many faces! Except one more…Mr. K is going to have a ‘concerned face’ when he finally has to ‘FACE THE MUSIC’ and he’ll find it liquid and loud — as in water flowing freely and habitats restored…and the sound of the turtle shall be heard throughout the land — to name just one!
Sunday, and still no article. I feel cheated. I guess I’ve become a publicity hound.
Send me a copy of the pond lilies and I will edit it to remove the writing at the top.
Actually David, it’s sort of like Chet’s signature. I kind of like it 🙂
I called Howard today and chided him for not letting me know about his letter to the editor. He said he’d do better next time. He’s considering writing an article about the impact of this draw down on Clary Lake. Some of you may recall Howard speaking at the Clary Lake Association annual meeting last summer.
I’d like to express thanks to Howard for his deep caring for the natural environment around my home…and the homes of all of us who call the shores of Clary Lake our natural back or front yard gift…not ours for the taking, ours for the caring, ours for the stewardship that is necessary. In addition, there are scores of people who travel from afar to enjoy the beauty of this area. Where are the stewards? We are here. Where is our state agency to help us in this endeavor? I hope and trust that they are in the wings, gearing up for a command performance and soon to take center stage and GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! It is heartbreaking to read that in Howard’s opinion, four marshes are ‘dead’. I don’t know why this is taking so long. I do know that selfish and ill-perceived measures have been underway to stall and to steal….to stall the saving of our sacred wildlife…to steal a healthy habitat from its residents — “all creatures great and small”. The humans need to step down AND STEP UP!
Thank you for that Margaret. You summed up the sadness and dismay that we’re all feeling quite nicely. I have to trust that the State WILL do the right thing and will not disappoint. It is taking a long time. Too long. I don’t blame the State, or the system, I blame Paul Kelley.
Today’s KJ article made it into the weekly news digest of the Mr Lakefront real estate web site and blog:
Clary Lake Foes Take Issue with DEP Study
Thanks to Jack Holland for bringing this to my attention. We need all the publicity we can get!
Well said, George and Margaret. Hope all those wildlife conservationists are following this travesty – really, where is the public outcry, besides from us???
We’re it Sue. But there are a lot of people watching, and waiting, and depending on us.
I found this news entry on the old site (2008):
“15 July 2008 We have baby loons this year! Tim Harkins sent me a photograph taken yesterday, 14 July 2008, showing 2 baby loon chicks out for a swim with their parents. This is really exciting! I don’t remember the last time we had loons chicks on the lake, we’ve been blessed. Life is hard for loon chicks and their survival is anything but guaranteed. Let’s hope they survive. You can help by leaving them alone and giving the family a wide berth if you encounter them on the lake!”
Good advice today even. The photograph is here.
Fishing on Thursday!!!! Good luck George:):)
What are the correct “credentials” to be considered an expert in analyzing a bathymethic survey? I would expect that a land surveyor would be one of those experts. Certainly not a wildlife biologist, as is indicated by the objectioner in a footnote.
A Professional Land Surveyor is quite qualified to address a bathymetric survey. It’s got everything to do with surveying and nothing to do with wildlife biology. Kelley just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Hey George,
Is there any way you leave Mr Kelly’s photo out of any new posts? At this point just his image is enough to put a damper on the start of my day.
Whose picture would you like to see? Darth Vader?
Maybe he’s trying to get a wide operating window so that he can keep the lake at an intolerably low level which would (theoretically) allow him to shake down the shorefront property owners for an annuity to operate at a higher level.
I’m sure Paul Kelley would love to have a “wide operating window” to play with. It ain’t gonna happen and speculation that this kind of thing might happen is not particularly helpful dialogue! The DEP will not give the dam owner a wide operating window nor will the dam owner have any discretion to “negotiate” with the lake shore owners over the water level once the order has been placed. Violations of a water level order must be taken seriously: DEP can seek a court order stopping the violations and imposing fines of up to $10,000 a day. DEP also has the authority to enter onto the dam property to carry out the terms of a water level order.
In HIS perfect world, Kelley would like to have the water level set low enough so that he can capture ALL the runoff from any conceivable rain event without any of it over topping the dam. He would then release the water at a constant rate of 55 cubic feet per second so as not to overburden his mill pond dam. The water level required to meet this purpose would be about 4′ below the top of the dam. Anyone who thinks the Department might come up with a water level of 4′ below the top of the dam must be smoking crack. In MY perfect world, Paul Kelley would never have found his way to Whitefield in the first place.
The Department’s Chapter 587 rules for deriving in-stream flows and lake and pond water levels actually specify a maximum annual fluctuation of 2.0′ for any Class GPA (Great Pond Act) water in Maine and a determination based on this figure (the so-called Standard Allowable Alteration Method) is deemed to be fully supportive of all State water quality standards and uses and the Department is well within its rights to choose this method for determining water level variation in Class GPA waters, with no further determination by the Department being required. In fact, their most recent Clary Lake Assessment specifies a 2.0 foot range of water level fluctuations. This is no accident and gives those of us with an understanding of the rules a solid insight into what to expect from the Department in the way of a water level order for Clary Lake.
Sample water level orders I have looked at specify a water level regime that leaves little to the imagination. Here’s the Water Level Order for China Lake which specifies a range from +0.5′ to -1.5″ (2′ overall) over the course of the year. Hardly what I’d call a “wide operating window.” And Gee. There’s that 2.0′ maximum annual fluctuation again. We know where that comes from now don’t we 🙂
The absolute maximum “operating window” they could possibly come up with is between 0′ and 2′ below the top of the dam and frankly, I could live with that. I wouldn’t like it, but I could live with it. But remember, this 2.0′ maximum annual fluctuation figure and the associated minimum flows IS NOT THE WATER LEVEL REGIME. These figures are parameters for a discretionary draw down of the impoundment for a specific purpose and the dam owner better hope he knows what he’s doing because they run the risk of incurring huge fines if they miscalculate and draw the lake down the allowed amount and then can’t maintain the flows without further draining the lake. The actual water level order the Department comes up with will describe a water level regime. We don’t know what this will be. We do know what it won’t be: it won’t be anything Paul Kelley can live with. I can guarantee you that.
Actually that’s not the only question I have and it’s not even my first one. That would be “Will the DEP really let Pleasant Pond Mill LLC continue this petition without putting the flowage rights on the table?“
The meeting was most informative. It appears that Paul Kelley (Pleasant Pond Mill LLC) has managed to make things so complicated, that actually selling or transferring ownership of the dam is quite problematical. However, a few changes could make things much more favorable. So it will be interesting to see what develops in the next few weeks.
Yes David- Kelley has painted himself into a corner from which there is no easy escape and I expect the situation for him will get worse, not better as time passes.
“Kelley told Ms. Auciello that he does not accept business correspondence at that email address.”
This is who we’re dealing with. I’m still shaking my head over this.
I look forward to the day when we have nothing better to talk about than pretty pictures of Clary Lake. Sadly, it’s going to be a while.
Nice graph. The significance is ominous, tho. All that devastation and ugliness I’ve seen out in the marshes and on our shorelines. All the inconveniences and extra costs we are facing.
All because some developer sniffed a business opportunity but was too stupid to realize that it was not a business opportunity…. it was part of our town and our lives and was part of a living ecosystem. So he bought a pig in a poke, bungled this project, and is so caught up in himself that he can’t see how ignorant and foolish he looks, how futile his ambitions, and how much a loser he is. Skip the personal pageant, Paul, and get out of our town.
Well, one way or another, we’ll be rid of this nuisance, and we’ll have a normal water level. I expect the 2014 lake graph will be a much flatter, smoother, and healthier level.
Colin S. Caissie
Long Hope Farm
Colin Caissie has replied directly to the service list:
Ms. Callahan:
Thanks for forwarding this notice.
Just say no. Pardon my rough language, but this guy is a narcissistic jerk, and gets off on having people kowtow to his baroque legal swirls.
There is a breach in the dam, and he should have fixed it, but that would have ruined the plot of the personal pageant that he’s performing.
The hole in the dam is about the size of Mr. Kelley’s head. The solution is clear.
Regards,
Colin S. Caissie,
inconvenienced, and angry farmer, lake user, ecologist and naturalist
Well Said Mr. Caissie!
No fallout on the Service List from Colin Caissie’s from-the-heart posting to same, not that I expected there would be any. I thought I heard a few twitters of laughter, and a nervous cough from somewhere out in Augusta but that was it.
Bravo Colin. There are no kind words to describe this man. This has to end. It would be quite gratifying if the DEP finally dealt with him, as he deserves……STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS and ‘banished from his kingdom’. Thank you for calling him what he is!
I have prepared my own short but sweet response to Kelley’s request which I will mail to the Service List first thing in the morning. I’ll post it here shortly thereafter. It was a waste of time writing it because there is no chance that Kelley’s request will be granted. Not a chance.
From the grapevine the word is that a lot of folks are thinking of individual lawsuits against a “stupid developer” for several different problems that have come from the lack of resolving this issue….some with the possibility of disastrous results. Enough said…..let’s leave the “Ace” in the hole.
More power to them Russell.
What’s the likelihood a breached dam, at Hurricane Irene’s hand (which I remember as more of a big blow), would be more of someone else’s responsibility than our poor, problematic mr. kelly?
If you really want to walk away, just go and leave us to repair the damn and rid ourselves of your memory and two years of heartache.
Would that he could Steve. He’s got a little problem called a mortgage… and until he can get out from under that, and deliver the dam with the flowage rights, he’s stuck with it. Which is OK with me. The State will place a water level order on it this summer, and the clock will start ticking.
That said, I share your frustration. But I do see an end to this fiasco, sooner rather than later.
I’ve had a chance to read Kelley’s second document; it is just a rehash of an old faulty argument he tried to make at the public hearing. I am prepared to refute it soundly. When attempting to change reality to suit one’s purpose, it helps to know what you’re talking about. In his attempt to define the elevation of the top of the dam, Kelley only succeeds in demonstrating his ignorance of matters on which I am an expert. He’s not going to get anywhere with this argument.
It’s probable that the DEP grants Kelley these extensions to avoid further inevitable “Kellyitis” (inflammation of useless paperwork hassles).
Would you follow up on the suggestion that I join the “Beyond Kelley” group regarding the repairs and future maintenance of the dam? I’ve done some sketches and calcs on how to raise the lake level, protect Mr. Kelley’s downstream bungle, and provide a clear opportunity to repair the dam. Obviously, real solutions, not paper ones, are needed. I promise to focus on the solution, not get caught up in the dam owner’s blatant negligence and ignorance.
It’s time that we all go “Beyond Kelley”, as his future is certainly one of failure and losing the property. It’s clear that he’s not concerned with the lake level or the repair of the dam, only his desperate staged farce. Since his show stinks, let’s move on.
I will Colin. I will probably set up a list address to handle emails. Sadly, rather than spending time addressing important things lately, I’ve found myself putting out fires that Kelley keeps igniting, no doubt with that specific intent. But that is the nature of these proceedings. In a way, having the DEP grant Kelley his 30 day extension to comment gives us all a welcome reprieve. We’ll make good use of the time.
As for Kelley’s request to reopen the public hearing, Procedural Order #5 clearly specified the circumstances under which such a request would be considered. I do not believe Kelley has met the requirements and I will be filing a response to his request asking the Department to deny it.
If you can believe what Kelley has been saying, his so-called “downstream bungle” is now Richard Smith’s “downstream bungle” and Mr. Smith has not been heard from. It appears that these two former partners have divvied up the property and Kelley ended up with only the dam (with no flowage rights) and Smith got everything else. I wonder how that happened? In any case, it would appear now that Kelley is continuing to fight our petition on the one hand and pursue his own petition for release from dam ownership on the other out of sheer stubborn cussedness.
And I agree: Kelley faces certain failure with the only question being how long before it is visited upon him, and at what cost. All too soon and too much from his point of view, not soon enough from mine.
Paul will have to get back together with Richard Smith of Aquafortis LLC to retrieve the flowage rights before he can relieve himself of the dam? That’s a pretty simple step. Is that what the Town of Whitefield is looking into next?
Colin, I wouldn’t characterize anything involving Paul Kelley as “pretty simple.” On the contrary, Kelley’s capacity to complicate and confuse situations is astonishing. Right now I think the Town is just trying to get a handle on the legal implications of owning the dam without also owning the flowage rights. It doesn’t look good: as it stands now their perspective is that flowage rights belong with the dam and if you own the dam you also need the flowage rights to legally operate it. I don’t know if anyone is planning to talk to Richard Smith. I’m not. Probably somebody should, he seems to hold the key to unraveling this mess.
As I understand it, the DEP has issued Kelley an ultimatum: Deliver proof by the 13th of May that Pleasant Pond Mill LLC has sufficient right, title, and interest in the dam including the flowage rights or they’ll be returning his petition. So I think right now the Towns (Jefferson and Whitefield) are just sitting tight until next week to see what happens. Even if the State dismisses Kelley’s petition, there’s no reason why he can’t continue to try and schmooze the town into buying his dam but the statutory requirement that the Towns hold public hearings and play ball with Kelley will be gone.
One conclusion we can reach from that book “The Water Power of Maine” is that in 1869, there was no dam on the pond. Pleasant Pond only had the potential of storing 4′ to 6′ of water, it wasn’t actually storing it. In the late 1700s there was a dam on the river side of the road, still visible today but I’d always thought there was a dam on the pond in the 1800s before Henry Clary came along in 1890-something but now I’m not too sure. The existing dam on Clary Lake may well be the first dam ever built on the pond.
Thanks for the pictures George. It is hard to believe it can get lower since I’m only seeing a mud puddle from the road at the dam. Something to be proud of for the dam owner, and to what end?
Next the hole will wash out and breach one dark night.
It’s already breached according to Kelley 🙂
The dam will be fine Baxter.
I’m sure it will…
You need to show a little more enthusiasm there Baxter 🙂
Wandered down to the shore this morning to take in the sunrise and noticed that the lake has stopped falling and in fact appears to have started to rise again. That is a welcome change.
Funny how closing the gate does that!
Well, the first responsible act I’ve heard of from our favorite Eco-terrorist.
Colin
I suppose “costs of ownership” includes his legal fees for fighting a losing battle. And his time spent composing letters, and driving to meetings, etc.
Good luck.
C
Hopefully DEP now can turn their full attention to the lake level petition!
Yes!!
Why do my comments keep disappearing?
Disappearing? I can see them!
I can see my comment about my comments disappearing, but I also had commented on this post on Friday (I said yippee! or something to that effect), but I don’t see that comment here anymore.
I dunno Mary. I get emails of all comments (and I keep most of them) and I don’t find one matching that description. That said, I vaguely remember such a comment.. You should just say “Yippee” again and we’ll try and keep track of it.
If this man doesn’t have a black heart I don’t know who does!! How can anyone not care about nature and not enjoy the beauty of what we have to preserve. Now again, the loons don’t stand a chance with such evil lurking. I do believe in Karma and believe me his is long over due!!
I don’t know what to say Eve. For someone who claims to be only interested in getting out from under his dam liability, he’s sure going about it wrong and that includes doing everything he can to piss off and alienate the very people who want to buy his dam.
Thank-you, Whitefield selectmen!!! A great follow up would be for Senator Johnson and rep. Sanderson to let Aho know that they are concerned about the timeliness of this process as well.
A timely and appropriate response on the part of Whitefield’s Selectmen. I’m not at all impressed with the response of the Jefferson Selectmen to this crisis. They unceremoniously washed their hands of the Clary Lake dam issue at their public meeting last week and aren’t looking back. Their perspective is short sighted.
Thanks so much George for this informative and very well designed site.
The Town of Whitefield is proud of their Selectmen!
Incidentally Beth Callahan will be will be out of the office from June 3 through June 12 and returning on June 13.
What did Boynton say that garnered applause?
Well he talked at length about the early history of the dam and how it’s basically in good shape but just needs some repairs. Talked about how the availability of water close to his house allowed the fire department to save his house when his barn caught on fire some years ago. His father used to own the mill property and dam and he talked about how Chester Boynton lost it during the bank holiday in 1933. Albert was born in the little red house on the dam. When he went to sit down, people clapped.
Well, at least Kelley has been jolted from his trance, and is actually beginning to talk about dam repair. Is it just more talk, though? Probably. His words are just so devoid of substance.
C
It’s just more talk Colin. The request from the Association for permission to get an engineering assessment of the dam required a “yes” or “no” answer. We’ve received neither. Kelley instead is using our request as an opportunity to manipulate the outcome. Not interested.
His tone of voice is becoming strident. Soon he will be shrieking.
C.
CORRECTION to PPM reply to Fergusson objection to extension request
In a footnote to the reply, Paul Kelley accuses George Fergusson of cancelling my efforts to see if PPM would allow CLA to sponsor an engineering study of the dam with the goal to participate in repair of the dam (as any good neighbor would). THIS IS NOT TRUE. In fact, the reason I terminated the discussion was; (1) the discussion to date was preliminary, LIMITED to doing an engineering study of the dam, and had not reached a level where it was appropriate to get CLA involved; (2) Paul Kelly in his request for extension on May 30, 2013 included me as an “intervener” which was clearly out of bounds of our discussion. Because he did that without my knowledge or permission, I decided to end any discussions with him until after the current dam issues are settled.
David Hodsdon
Paul Kelley was a fool to think he could get away with using his talks with you as an excuse for asking for a delay in the processing of the water level petition. Did he forget that you are a petition signer?
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Will someone please tell me what kinds of d___s this guy is on. I want to have the name next time I go to the doctor, have it added to my permanent records to not administer this stuff to me at any point…ever. Sheesh!
He’s creating multiple bases for extending the process. He’s trying to show bias in the DEQ, deprevation of representation by the DEQ, incompetence of the DEQ– whatever it takes to extend the timeline. He will soon request, in light of the history, that new people be assigned from the department as he tries to perfect a breach order before a water level order. Wouldn’t be surprised if the lawyers reappear and formal legal actions are launched to slow the process.
I agree that’s his plan Baxter. However, he’ll not get a breach order.
Mr. Kelley is acting like a little boy who has the only ball and now wants to choose who to play with. Give it up you made a bad business decision in buying the property years ago. Get out and stop making the people and wildlife suffer because of your actions.
Thank you
Wayne B. longtime fisherman on Clary until recently.
You’ll be fishing on Clary Lake again Wayne.
I fully expect Kelley to file an objection to this motion before 5 PM today.
Short and sweet!
Bob reviews all my submissions. He’s always telling me “keep it short” 🙂
I meant the motion….short, sweet and to the point!
Very nice. Looks like Margaret’s a happy gal!
We have lost a great steward of our lake and a fine gentleman. He will be missed by many.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
I’ve got a little more information. Ed was born May 19, 1923, making him 90 years old. There will be no funeral but there will be a celebration of his life held at his home in Baton Rouge LA on June 30th at 4:00 p.m. There will be an obituary appearing in Baton Rouge papers this week, and the Lincoln County News next week. I’ll post it here as well.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, LA, St. Giles Episcopal Church in Jefferson, Maine, or the Clary Lake Association, PO Box 127, Whitefield, ME 04353. I’ll be setting up a donations page in Ed’s memory soon.
It was indeed Tony Fletcher and another engineer (whose name I didn’t get) at the dam last Tuesday.
Thank you so much for posting this for my sweet Daddy. He will be sorely missed and was deeply loved.
You’re entirely welcome Kate. He was my friend, and an outstanding steward of Clary Lake.
Yep. Ha.
I find Mr. Kelley’s concern for the habitat “and finally, wiping out an entire endangered species habitat:” laughable considering the damage he has done to the surrounding wetlands by lowering Clary Lake water level to the point of draining them
.
I agree Ann, his misplaced concerns are at best disingenuous.
For those who are interested in the use of words and word definitions: A “breach” (noun) is a hole in a wall or dam. If a dam is “breached” (verb) than a large opening is created such that the dam no longer holds ANY water back from the water body above the dam. The Clary lake Dam has a breach, but is clearly in no way breached!
Yes, Tony was quite clear- a “breached dam” is one that no longer holds any water. I wish he’d put that in writing.
Thanks for your interesting posts George….
in reminiscing the other day ,Betty and I were remembering some of the now colorful reminders of why no one would want to own the rights to the Clary mill dam.
In our half century history of ownership and use of property on our beloved Clary lake, we recalled some of the animated and colorful arguments about how the lake level should be managed.
The damn dam owners were accused of loon abortion, beach disappearance, promoting boating hazards and flooding of potential farmland.
In the fall some wanted the lake Lowered to prevent ice damage, others demanded the water level raised to afford them a truck driveway from their shore to their ice traps.
In recent years the bass fishing cartel went so far as to propose posting the lake fish as being poisoned by mercury, so that people would not eat the game
fish – allowing them to get to trophy size.
one cottage owner wanted the lake level to be as high as it was in his youth when he could launch his boat from his boat directly from his boathouse without having to step on land.
Possibly we have reached the age when history should be forgotten, or at least conveniently and temporarily ignored.
Onward, forward.
yours in conservation.
David
the rememberer…
That thud I just heard was Henry clary , rolling over.
The Clary Lake Association wants to own the dam David and one of these days it will be ours. Having a DEP water level order on it that dictates a water level regime will take the fun out of water level management and won’t leave people with much to complain about. Then we can all just get on with enjoying the lake in whatever way we choose.
If Henry Clary is rolling over in his grave it is no doubt because of the way Kelley and Smith have botched their plans to breath new life into the mill he built.
Same to you, George!
Thanks! And Hey! You got an avatar!
Had a nice visit with the folks from Branch Pond Association. Most of the meeting was spent talking about the upcoming Branch Pond water level petition public hearing- who is going to testify, what they’re going to say, etc. There are a LOT of similarities between Branch Pond and Clary Lake it turns out. Beautiful little pond.
go George!!!!
Gone!
Hopefully it will be a short wait… Such a shame to see the water that low.
Well I finished reading Kelley’s closing brief. It was agony. Most of his arguments have been raised already, and dismissed and the rest, as far as I’m concerned, are irrelevant to the determination of a water level.
Well,Ii don’t have the time to read through it yet either, but in the first few pages we see that Kelley again is attempting slick hollow wording to show that everybody is wrong and he doesn’t have to fix his dam.
I’ll bet his parents couldn’t get him to do his homework….he made excuses until they tore their hair, and gave up.
all this useless effort on his part so that he doesn’t have to do what is his responsibility, and everybody else gets to handle his ****.
C
No Paul, I didn’t “intercept” the letter from the AG’s office intended for Ellis Percy. Ellis gave me the letter Saturday evening.
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Well David Hodsdon apparently likes a challenge! He spotted 2 of the 6 seams where the 7 pictures were joined. He’s got some experience with this sort of thing as he owns one of those robotic Gigapan camera platforms and has made some nice panoramas.
Boy people really like videos. This one has gotten way more views than any post I ever wrote 🙂
“George”, you’re a prince of a petition spokesperson!! Thank you…thank you… for your diligent and persevering carving and cutting and scraping through all the clutter that defines Mr. Kelly and his endeavors. Many, and Mother Nature herself are grateful, I’m sure.
Didn’t hear any “tough questions” questions asked.
No. No tough questions. And my primary concerns, the impact of the draw down on the ecology and wildlife habitat, the draining of 350 acres of wetlands, and the unusable State boat launch did not get mentioned either. But we’ll take the publicity just the same.
Personally, I detest video.
So Kelly says he wants out. Does he have a way to restore the water rights that he split off from ownership of the dam? A dam without water rights is pretty damned useless. Pun intended.
Hard to say David; not if you believe what Kelley says and until the flowage rights become reacquainted with the dam, he is stuck with it. However, the record owner of the flowage rights, Aquafortis Associates, is a party to the petition and when the water level order is placed, they will become equally liable, along with the dam owner, for non-compliance with the order. This is a particularly unpleasant position for them to be in considering they don’t own the dam; in other words, they’re liable for a water level they have no control over. That would make me uncomfortable! Perhaps they’ll conclude they don’t really need the flowage rights after all (they don’t) and will put them on the table.
Then there is the argument that flowage rights are an appurtenant easement to the dam which does the flooding, and can’t legally be separated from it. Perhaps Kelley still owns those flowage rights and doesn’t know it. Kelley has created an untenable situation and he’s now mired in it. Hoist on his own petard.
It is sad that Paul Kelley approaches things in such a litigious way. If he had been more open about his goals, perhaps things would not be in the state they are today. For example, approaching lake water level control in a more responsible, community oriented way would have obviated the need for petitioning the DEP to set a water level regime. Even keeping the water level just below the “hole” in the dam might have been acceptable to all!
Well the fact that you filed a petition got up his nose, and he has reacted to your meddling with passive aggression. So, yes, he was going to fix the dam sometime until you wanted him to fix the dam.
Nobody, I said nobody, tells Paul Kelley what to do.
Except I don’t believe he ever had any intention of fixing the dam. That was just posturing.
Ain’t nature wonderful to watch !
That algae community appears as opportunistic as a gang of primates in Speedos.
Nature is wonderful to watch. The demise of a lake eco-system because of the actions of one selfish man is not wonderful to watch.
Sorry I couldn’t be there, George. I appreciate all you are doing to preserve our beautiful lake.
Thank you Kate, it was nice meeting you. Sorry you couldn’t stick around longer. Come back again soon!
One comment about this from a friend of mine who is a lawyer: “Oh, for christ’s sake, that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.” Another friend of mine (who also happens to be a lawyer) couldn’t stop laughing long enough to tell me what they really thought. There are however deeply troubling aspects to this latest development despite the obvious humorous implications of Kelley filing restrictive covenants on himself.
Officially, Kelley is still represented by Tony Buxton of PretiFlaherty but it remains to be seen if this is in fact the case or only being maintained for appearances. In any case, Kelley’s email address is not on the Service List so unless Tony Buxton is forwarding these emails to Kelley, it is likely he’ll first learn of this list email when he reads it on this site:
You’re welcome Paul.
The fact that Ms. Parent has given us only 3 days to comment says a whole lot about what she thinks about these covenants: Not Much. In other words, color Heather Parent Not Impressed with Kelley’s latest shenanigans. This means she doesn’t intend to let this these covenants sidetrack her deliberations, which means the water level petition is right on track. If she had given us 2 weeks to comment, or a month, I would have been worried. And mad. Instead I’m happy, and Kelley is mad.
I also suspect that Kelley will be scrambling to come up with a sensible explanation of his actions, and of course he’ll fail miserably. I can’t wait to read it. I don’t think Kelley expected these covenants to come to light so soon; it was rather fortuitous that I became aware of them less than 2 days after they were filed. I think he was waiting to for the right time to drag `em out. I’d like to think we’ve caught him with his pants down…
Just been reading the covenants more closely:
If any of the covenants, restrictions or other provisions of this Declaration shall be unlawful, void or voidable because of the Rule against Perpetuíties, then such provision or provisions shall continue only until twenty-one (21) years after the death ofthe last survivor of the now living descendants of Elizabeth II, Queen of England.
Huh?
Does Kelly’s mortgage restrict his ability to place covenants on the dam? A commercial lender would most likely include language in a mortgage disallowing any covenant that could possible impair the value of the asset. I wonder if Art Enos considered such language. Maybe Kelly ‘s covenant is a non-starter anyway?? Randy Wing
Good question Randy. There is nothing in the mortgage deed to prevent what Kelley did nor anything in the covenants themselves to suggest Art Enos approved them and I suspect he didn’t even know about them. As a courtesy I emailed Art last week informing him of the covenants. I also mentioned the fact that Art didn’t sign off on the covenants to Bob Rubin, Clary Lake Association counsel and he thought it was pretty much a non-starter: If Art were to foreclose on the property and take the dam back he likely wouldn’t be bound by the covenants. But Art’s not going to foreclose on the dam, he doesn’t want it back. He wants his money and Kelley’s Covenants have gone a long way towards assuring Enos won’t get paid.
I’ll tell you, it’s wonderful to have some news to report on that isn’t water level petition related!
Amen. Paul Kelley probably read to the end of this post in hope of discovering that the loon died, painfully.
Oh Amanda, he’s not mean-spirited. I’m sure he just doesn’t care.
Taylor has a welt on his neck where she bit him but says she was the prettiest bird he’s ever seen and well worth the effort!
There’s no end to the adverbs and adjectives that apply….
Playing with lives…
Audaciously wasting precious time…
Unadulterated narcissism…
Lost to reality…
Kindred with nothing…
Elastic Enthusiasm for idiotic Epiphanies…
Loquaciously Lopsided…
Loose cannon…
Enamered in his Egomaniacal Enclave
Yoked and Yelping…Your party’s over…
My wife, the poet.
Seems where ever you go, there is always one that negatively impacts the lives of those around them. For you, it’s Mr. Kelley. Keep at it George!
Both Sue McKeen and I have written comments on the KJ web site. More people should take advantage of this public forum to express their opinions about this matter.
George, Thanks for the informative update on the algae..
You’re welcome Jack. Thank you for your ongoing data collection efforts!
Thank you for your dedication to the environment.
That’s what it is really all about right Mary? The environment? The one issue I have with the publicity we’ve received over the past year and a half is that they’re always saying this petition is about lake shore owners who are unhappy with their water level and who are “unable to enjoy their lake.” Not so. I know I’m not alone when I say I enjoy the lake every day. What pains me is the impact the draw down has had and continues to have on the ecology and environment around Clary Lake: the lost wetland and wildlife habitat. 50% of the water in the lake is gone and with it the productive shallow water littoral zone. It’s a crime Mary. A bloody crime.
It was Thomas Gillette who spotted the article and dropped it off at my house. Thank you Thomas!
Sorry, the above URL linked to the wrong letter. Fixed. Thanks Dominik 🙂
Just happened to look at the map they prepared showing the location of the State boat launch and notice they’ve actually put the destination pin on Bob Antognoni’s house.
Well judging from my own discussions with Ms. Howatt and what has been stated in this article, it is perfectly clear to me that not only am I confused about what Paul Kelley’s intentions are, so too is DEP confused.
Good grief, another six months of this nonsense? Anybody want to buy a camp?
Eh.. He can leave a for-sale sign on the dam as long as he wants as far as I’m concerned Steve.
George, perhaps it doesn’t matter, perhaps it does, but as a lake shore owner I’ve never received either notice from Kelly. I always receive by tax bill from the Town of Whitefield in a timely fashion. Hate to out of the loop but I don’t think he rectified anything if I’m not getting these notices.
13 October 2013: Green scum continues to pile up on the shore. Recent TP (Total Phosphorus) test suggest the cyanobacteria is starving to death.
What happened at the meeting?
Well Mary, It did not start well but I’m happy to report that it ended on a hopeful, more or less positive note thanks to the patient efforts of a number of people. I’m working on a post now. A Lincoln County News reporter was there so I expect an article in this week’s paper. I’ll post it on the website later this afternoon 🙂
Great program PLUS…They have a wonderful SWAP-SHOP
They do!
And still nothing from DEP on our lake level order?
No. It can happen any day.
George – Any reason for that optimism?
I’m an eternal optimist 🙂
No, really: DEP won’t make any definitive statements about what the order looks like or a time line for it’s completion but I have been assured that the Department is in fact working on a order and that it will be issued when it’s ready, and not before. I believe them. I just wish they’d hurry up.
I can’t get it to load!
Are you getting an error message and if so, what is it? It loads OK for me… it is a big file, over 2 megabytes so it might take a while and your browser may choke on it. I’ll try breaking it into a few pieces.
It took a really long time….it did finally load though!
Woohoo! The dam must be repaired and the lake level is to be maintained within 2 feet of the established normal high water mark!!!!! Water in our lake again!!!!
Yes. It is essentially what we asked for, and what I expected 🙂
I’m still mulling over the precise wording of items 1 through 10 of the order on pages 11 through 16.
My phone almost hasn’t stopped ringing since about 4 PM this afternoon 🙂
Congrats George- Your persistence and hard work has finally paid off. I’m so happy for everyone’s dedication to this petition. Bob A.
Thank you Bob! This marks a significant milestone in our quest for a resolution to the Clary Lake water level mess. There is however much work ahead. We’re not out of the woods yet. Your continued support is appreciated.
Now that your first comment has been approved, future comments should appear automatically.
I agree with Bob….many thanks to you George for your tenacity in fighting to save our lake. Congratulations on a job well done!
Looks like Kelley has yet more responsibilities to handle now. So sad that he couldn’t figure out the intelligent way to do all this, years ago.
I took the time to read it and think it’s great! My only question that I would have is; Given his track record, (from where I sit), What would be the penalty if he doesn’t comply on time. It sure will be nice to drive by there and see the water flowing near or over the top of that dam like it did when I was a kid..
Hi Skip. I was a little surprised there was nothing in the ORDER about the enforcement provisions of water level orders which are provided for by State law, MRSA Title 38 § 841. “Maintenance of dams.” The law has teeth and the penalty for failure to comply with a water level order is substantial:
Thanks to the requirement for a publicly visible, permanently mounted water level gauge, everyone will be able to monitor the water level of Clary Lake, and monitor it they will. In short, non-compliance is not an option.
That should give him a bit of incentive then…..
When I first read the draft order, my initial thought was, who in their right mind would want to own a dam with a water level order on it? Well the answer to that question is simple: anyone who wishes to protect and preserve Clary Lake. For such a person, complying with the order is not an onerous burden at all but an honor, and a privilege. This is why the Clary Lake Association, which is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural beauty and quality of Clary Lake and its watershed, should own the dam and why the Association has supported this petition initiative from the very start. It is also explains why we have received the outcome we desired, and why Kelley has not: our interests are aligned with those of the Department and the IF&W and Kelley’s are not. It’s that simple.
George, I want to thank you once again for all your hard work. Although we have many talented and dedicated members in our lake association I believe that we would be hard pressed to find one with the level of knowledge, expertise, unwavering dedication and stamina to see this petition to completion. George, you are a GEM. Thanks again, Jack
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait till October 2014 for Christmas.
Big hugs to you George. Congrats for a good job, well done.
Thank you very much for all your time and hard work that you put into bringing a resolution to the dam water level problem. We applaud you!!
You’re entirely welcome Tim, and thank you for your advice and support over the past 2 years.
bingo. they gave him an additional week. Congrats.
Yeah.
The water level variations are of great interest to me. I often wonder what the lake condition was like before the dam was put in. Anyway, thanks George for maintaining the water level records.
So, what is he really saying? He doesn’t care about the actual matter, but is fighting the controversy over procedure. That may impress types like himself, but 95% of humanity is sane enough to realize that he’s desperately trying to cover his obvious failures and avoiding responsibility, shrieking and going down fast.
So, Happy New Year Paul. Are you anesthetizing yourself? If I was in your shoes, I’d be drinking.
C
Mr Kelly can you say…loser? But please do go easy on the imbidements . When you come to you’ll still be the…can you say…loser?
Happy New Year to All! What a great way to start the year!
Indeed Kate, indeed!
They gave him lots of rope earlier, gave him extensions, gave him lengthy replies and patient consideration.
The rope is now coming up short, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
C
I am chagrined to find myself quoted in Mr. Kelley’s Motion to bolster his position requesting an extension due to inclement weather:
“Petitioners/Intervenors themselves made note of the adverse conditions, stating on December 27th “I was without power for 3 ½ [three and one-half] days this past week and was unable to work at my computer. I did compose some notes on paper with pencil only to find that I can no longer read my own hand writing.” [George Fergusson, Clary Lake Association website posting at clarylake.org].”
Hehe… inclement weather, yes but Paul… I didn’t ask for an extension 🙂
Translation: “Ummm, NO!”
🙂
15 minutes to go and still nothing from Kelley… he’s cutting it close this time, or else he’s left me off the distribution list again 🙂
Yes, I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for Kelley’s email. What are you doing?
8 minutes.
Well, it’s 5:01 by my clock and I’ve received nothing. Either Kelley left me off the list or he’s decided to blow off comments on the Draft water level order. I’ll know soon enough.
Kelley , omniscient and superior in his intellect, never makes a mistake, whether in forgetting people on the list, or spelling the Draft as DAFT, or in misspelling your name. You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud to realize this. What he says is exactly what he means.
So we have received a very clear portrait of the man.
Well done George!
Your comments to the order can only improve the final result. I look forward to the day when PPM decides to allow the CLA to assist in implementing the water order or to consider seriously to sell the dam to the Association.
Thank you David. I was NOT deprived of a reasonable opportunity to comment on the draft order 🙂
Beth Callahan has just re-sent Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s January 6th email with attached comments on the Daft Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Service List, stating that apparently not all the people on the list had actually received the email. I’m sure she enjoyed doing that.
Can you obtain copies of the comments from USIFW, Senator Johnson and NMFS?
Hi Mary-
I’ll try. Chris Johnson informs me that he did NOT submit formal comments on the Draft order. I’m guessing now that the reporter was misinformed. I honestly can’t imagine comments being submitted to Beth Callahan without them being forwarded to the Service List, but I’ll ask around.
Mary- It turns out there WERE 3 comments that were sent to Beth Callahan’s email address and never made it to the Service List, from Senator Christopher Johnson, Jeff Murphy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Stephen Sheppard of NOAA. I’ll post them shortly.
Thanks for posting, George!
You’re welcome Mary. It turns out they weren’t earth-shaking comments, or vile spittle-covered diatribes like Paul Kelley’s comments, but it is nice to know that U.S. Fish & Wildlife approves of the Draft Order in its entirety and that the National Marine Fisheries Service only really cares that the Atlantic Salmon spawning grounds don’t get unduly de-watered. I expecially like that Chris Johnson took exception to ONE WORD in a 16 page document.
I had planned on posting a few thoughts about Mr. Kelley’s comments on the Draft Clary Lake water level order once I had had a chance to re-read them a few times. However, having now done that, I have to fall back on some advice my mother gave me when I was growing up: “If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.”
So I have nothing to say about Mr. Kelley’s comments except to wonder out loud “Where are the foot notes?” There are no foot notes.
Looks like OVER 50CFS flow to me. Should we let Aquafortis know that the dam owner is violating the covenant? Should be sued….I mean the covenant, in the absence of the final order, is the legal instrument that is in force. I think somebody should tell Smith that Kelley is recklessly releasing water, is showing negligence by not measuring the dangerous flow rate, and should be brought before the authorities. Violating the covenant that they worked so hard to create….criminal.
C
The covenants ain’t worth the paper they’re written on.
I took a picture of the flow this morning- the lake level is -25″ below the top of the dam. Experimenting posting a picture via my Google+ account:
https://plus.google.com/107607131355254365831/posts/BqpA2uRihYC
Well I did take a jaunt up to the end of the lake to look at the channel but I was unable to get off the shore due to high water and thin ice. So I was unable to corroborate my assertion that the water from the meadow is currently flowing into the lake but it has to be. I did take this panorama which is pretty cool:
https://plus.google.com/107607131355254365831/posts/ET9V7jjWY15
Well it looks to be a glaring failure on the part of PPM. While PPM was blaming bad weather for causing a leak, they did nothing to make the repair, which any motivated housewife or group of townies, or just I, could have permanently fixed in a couple of weekends of actual effort. Instead, PPM generated more than enough paper shenanigans to plug the leak. Maybe that’s how smart people solve problems, but to me it didn’t seem to help much.
Now PPM’s got a dam that is just getting worse, and the Aquafortis property downstream (our beloved Clary Water Mill) is in jeopardy. I note that neither PPM nor Aquafortis has done much to significantly improve either property, and clearly it’s falling down. Now we stand to lose a local historic landmark, part of the town’s history and culture, and property which, thanks to Mr. Kelley, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Not only that, but Aquafortis has placed a restrictive covenant on water flow to protect his property, and PPM is violating that current rule. Some of us view the covenant as an ill-conceived ploy to discourage a future dam owner so that PPM can get their breach order and walk away, and we know that the Aquafortis covenant is trumped when the State of Maine DEP Water Level Order becomes final. But at this time it’s valid, and in force. Normally I wouldn’t care about any of this paper posturing, but now it looks like real conditions have made the covenant relevant to protecting property and part of our town’s environment.
When the real Spring thaw hits, is PPM’s poorly maintained property going to damage the poorly maintained Aquafortis property?
Aquafortis and PPM have ruined the lake environment, endangered cherished history, consumed our time and energy, and have just let everything rot down. I wonder if the National Register would be concerned if they knew one of their landmarks was endangered?
PPM should hope that the Lake Level Order is quickly issued. Then he should think about whether he’s wiser to comply with the Order, or is better off selling it ASAP.
Apologies for the earfull.
Yippee…..better late (almost exactly 2 years from the submission of the petition) than never!!
Oh you know it Mary. And it was worth waiting for. Victory is Sweet 🙂
It would take me 3 months to review any of Paul’s hyperconvoluted documents.
They did a fine job.
I couldn’t bring myself to read them at all.
Why is it so straightforward, clear and practical when we talk about it? Kelley makes it sound so frustratingly and senselessly impossible.
Kelley reminds me of General Idi Amin Dada. “Sometimes people mistake the way I talk for what I am thinking.”
Can’t wait for the next pantload from “he whose name shall not be mentioned”.
Does that put the order in limbo or does he still have to abide by it? Seems to me that superior court could take awhile.
Hi Skip- His filing an appeal of the water level order does NOT stay the water level order, it is still in force and needs to be complied with. His first deadline is May 1st by which time he’s got to have a water level management plan prepared. Failure to meet that deadline constitutes a violation of the order and will be dealt with by the Department.
So Kelley has a rather over-full plate at this time. First he’s got the Water Level Order to contend with, second he’s got his Petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance to promote, and third he’s got his appeal in Superior court to pursue. He also no doubt has a few other monkeys on his back. One could almost feel sorry for him. Almost.
I would like to add a big thank you to David Hodsdon for his long time involvement with VLMP and bringing me into this program, also the CLA for their support for providing the updated equipment we use during the water testing.
Well, there’s always 2015 to look forward to, right? This is getting very old.
Photos were delightful to see. The expressions on their little faces are just priceless. Just a pure joy to see. We thank you. Doug & Eve Kinney
Great photos…so glad I finally got to them…and a new ‘crop’ of shots is awakening before us. Let’s remain steadfast, all of us, and not let anything or “anyone” take away our power to enjoy these incredible gifts of nature. We will get beyond all the nonsense and arrogance and posturing that speak only to the stupidity of a humankind. “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”!!
It was a great weekend to observe nature. I saw loons, at least 4 eagles
(2 mature and 2 inmmature), dozens of little buffleheads, and a solitary king fisher. The extent of ice melt from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning was incredible!
Gee am I missing something here? Did we, the Clary Lake Association, not make the offer to Mr. Kelley that we would buy the dam from him and he told us NO? He is getting desperate and running on empty. What is wrong with this man? I think he has Alzheimer’s and needs help. Lots of it! He does not care about the lake one iota nor does he care about the wildlife. I am totally disgusted with this man lack of character and the injustice to all who live on the lake. Enough is enough. He has exhausted all his legal rights by now and they shouldn’t let it carry on any longer.
I share your frustration Eve. Yes, we’ve offered to buy the dam and take over the note. He must have some very compelling reason to continue hang on to it in the face of the circumstances.
It works!
What an unbelievable streak of bad luck for Mr. Kelley.
Nothing has gone the way he wanted. Even things that did not rely on pure luck…like responsibly maintaining his property at the dam site, or modifying his extremely restrictive covenants and legal postures in order to gain cooperation …..have blown back on him, and now he’s got a dam that needs even more extensive repair, a pile of legal hassles, looming fines, and a citizenry that views him as a foe of Clary Lake, the towns of Whitefield and Jefferson, and probably the unpaid mortgage holder.
“Born under a bad sign….. If it wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have no luck at all”.
Or on a positive note, “We create our own luck.”
Great, just when the mermaids were due migrate :):):)
Set up your own webcam! I’ll host it!
Paul must be disappointed that all those high officials are not going to march around to his tune. It would have been a spectacle worthy of the Perennially Farcical Kelley Circus Act.
This guy will get this *ss handed to him real soon.
Too late, Paul, to go and do the right thing, now it’s harvest time for all the ill will you’ve sown.
Schadenfreudenly,
Colin
“The DEP typically uses 80K actions where administrative settlement efforts have failed, where such action is necessary to prevent environmental harm, or to prevent an alleged violator from subverting the administrative process. All Rule 80K actions seek to obtain a court ordered resolution that includes any necessary corrective action and penalties.”
Well that’s our boy….causing environmental harm and subverting all processes.
Like watching a bug crawl out on a burning stick. He can fry if he wishes to, all I want is a return to a functional lake.
Makes me wonder if any community resource should be held in the hands of a single person. I mean, what happens if your wellbeing is at the mercy of an immature, selfish, unreasonable and destructive twerp? People begin to pass laws to overcome this, and then we complain about loss of freedom.
Freedom is the ability to overcome our nature and raise ourselves to reasonable and compassionate action. Kelley (like any 9 year old) thinks freedom is doing whatever you want.
C
Wow. They obviously have studied Kelley’s strategy and reviewed his list of successes, and said, “Looks good to me, sign me up.”
C
There’s a decidedly “Tea Party-ish” flavor to the Coombs’ “declaration” (made even more palpable by their quoting from the Declaration of Independence) that is missing from Paul Kelley’s approach, though the arguments are familiar. One thing that is significantly different about the Branch Pond issue is the condition of the dam. In 2011 MEMA indeed characterized the dam as a “Significant Potential Hazard dam” and the Coombs have apparently done nothing to address the serious dam safety issues raised in the report: MEMA Branch Pond Dam Report
“My hope is that all the parties see that the best solution is no longer to fight this but to try to see if there is some constructive solution.”
The constructive solution has existed for years. Kelley has to stop fighting this, and see it.
C
I wonder where actual current facts fit into the argument. All I read is technicalities that suit Kelley’s self-serving argument. The lake level has been acceptable for the lake level owners and the habitat barring certain periods when owners have messed with it. Now we have this new troublemaker upsetting it all.
It’s a pretty tree.
🙂
I’m so glad someone liked it. 🙂
Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini
Glaze ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TB lemon juice
1 TB soft butter
Instruction
1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9×5 loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.
Thanks Ann! Sorry for not responding sooner! I’ve been thinking we ought to have a Recipes page…. I’ve got enough to do though so we’d need someone to handle that…
What does Paul Kelly want, a hand delivered letter!!! This is long over due and it is simply an injustice to all of us. When will someone make this man comply and stop this madness. It is disgusting and wrong on every level. Someone needs to grow some balls and make him do what they told him he needed to do long ago, enough already. I am mad as hell with this whole drawn out process.
Eve Kinney
Eve, you are not alone in feeling that way.
Much ado about nothing. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
She spoke well for everyone!! Here, here!
I understand there may be a few more irate lake shore owners writing DEP soon. A bunch of people tried to use the State boat launch this past weekend to get their boats out. They succeeded, just barely, but in once case (a friend of mine) he cracked the hull of his sail boat dragging it over the rocks to the end of the ramp.
As October 1st approacheth, do you know where our repaired and functioning dam is? Me either.
Beth Callahan responds:
From: “Callahan, Beth”
Date: September 30, 2014 at 2:52:13 PM EDT
To: ‘Jean McWilliams’
Subject: RE: Clary Lake
Dear Jean,
Thank you for your email describing your concerns in regard to water levels in Clary Lake. I understand that you must be frustrated by the situation; however, I can ensure you that I have noticed recent water levels. Although not officially measured, I have noticed the water level of the lake this summer at times when gathering data and also other times as I’ve driven by on my way to and from other project sites.
Immediately following issuance, the Department’s Order was appealed to Superior Court and a number of parties also filed a separate application request for mediation. The Department was named as a party in the suit and in the requests for mediation; therefore, the Department, represented by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, is directly in involved in the mediation process. Mediation began in July and it is still ongoing pursuant to the State’s Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service regulations. Based upon recommendation from our Assistant Attorney General in the matter, it was decided around the time that mediation began that the Department would put enforcement action on hold until an outcome through mediation was reached. Unfortunately, I just have no idea as to what or when this will be.
Although this is the Department’s current situation and position, this does not mean to say that you have no voice and no other options. There is an alternative mechanism in Maine Statute that does not limit just the Department to initiate enforcement action. The statute also allows any littoral or riparian owner to seek enforcement action of a violation of a Water Level Order. For more information on this option, take a look at 38 M.R.S.A. § 841 (3) in Maine Statutes here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/38/title38sec841.html. This type of enforcement action may come with its own set challenges like the Department is experiencing, and I’m definitely not trying to steer you in any sort of direction. I just wanted you to be aware that there is an enforcement mechanism outside of the Department that’s available to you, in case you are interested in learning more and if you didn’t already know.
Again, Jean, thank you for your concerns and for your photos as well. Feel free to contact me further if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
BETH CALLAHAN
Project Manager
Division of Land Resource Regulation
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
(207) 446-1586
beth.callahan@maine.gov
I too have sent a letter in support of getting this situation resolved:
From: Bill Albert [mailto:billalbert@masiello.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 4, 2014 1:47 PM
To: beth.callahan@maine.gov
Subject: Maine DEP To Hold Hearing On Petition To Establish Water Level Regime For Clary Lake
To: Beth Callahan, DEP Project Manager:
Greetings, I own a small mobile home at 53 Hodsdon lane, Jefferson Maine, the property is on Clary Lake. I Have owned this property about 6 years. When I purchased the mobile home form a very nice 86 year old couple the lake was very nice, with no issues boating or hitting rocks. Over the past few years I have watched with sorrow the loss of loons and lake.
This year I am concerned I will not have enough water line to pump water to the house, and I am concerned I will not be able to get my 1958 Crestliner Voyager out of the lake.
My wife and I took the Kayak over to the boat launch and ran aground on some rocks….IN a kayak!
Is there any hope in the near future to get this resolved? I am not as versed in this problem as some of my neighbors, but this seems like some fellow is thumbing his nose at the sate.
Thanks you for your time, and I am hoping you can help us to keep from running into rocks.
Bill Albert
Director of Information Technology
The Masiello Group
http://www.masiello.com
I just got back from a gathering on Flagstaff Lake, celebrating a 70th birthday of Lance Tapley, one of the key people in the action by the State of preserving Bigelow, and met with the other great man Bob Cummings.
Here we have men who persevered in creating a resource for the benefit of Mainers and others who care about the natural life around them. As I looked at beautiful Flagstaff, I remembered that it was a stream, the Dead River and the huge resource of the lake was created from that. It reminded me that Clary Lake was once a stream with a pond on it, and the creative works of certain men brought it up to the level of a larger life sustaining entity, of great benefit to the towns, the population and the State.
Can you imagine the horror and injustice of someone cleverly avoiding the responsibility inherent in owing and operating Long falls Dam and wrecking Flagstaff Lake? Tricking the State into action that is legal, yet obviously wrong? What kind of self serving moral midget would do that?
Well, somebody like the owner of the dam at Clary Lake has done just that. I wonder what level of being this man has, what the inside of his head is like? Is he totally ignorant of his responsibility in this matter but only clings to the illusion that he’s rightfully carrying out the law? What hollow reason from such a man. Or is it more malicious and intentional?
He has played his hand well, avoiding responsibility and stringing us along for years now. Embarrassing to think that this guy has done this to us. Imagine our celebration when this vermin is finally eradicated.
Thank you Colin for expressing what so many of us feel.
The Clary webcam came back to life as soon as Time Warner Cable fixed their internet service problem, about an hour ago. Phew. 3 days without internet at home was not pleasant.
If you want to install an AmazonSmile button on your browser, here’s a link for it:
Get the AmazonSmile 1Button
So homesick…
I was born in 1952 and spent all my summers at Clary Lake from 1953 -1965. Learned to swim there, never wore shoes and made many clay ashtrays from the nature clay deposits. It was a different world back then, pristine and quiet….
Nice how the Eagle flies off when the music ends…
That is a fun video!
Someone emailed me and asked how low the lake has gotten. The lowest I’ve seen it in recent years was on April 21, 2012 when the lake level was down to -62.32″ below the top of the dam. There is photographic evidence that back in July 1961 the level was likely 6″ lower than that. See the last two pictures in the Historical Photographs album.
Steve also uploaded this photograph showing his trophy fish:
I’ll bet it put up a helluva fight too.
You’ll find this and other user uploads in the User Uploads gallery.
Wow this post has gotten some attention.
Nice writeup about your goals for the site George and also nice to see pictures of yesterday’s meeting.
Pingback: 2015 Clary Lake Association annual meeting a great success | Clary Lake Association
Funny how things about the lake develop!
Absolutely the worst piece of writing I’ve ever foisted off on the general public, and I’ve written some pretty bad stuff!
Hopefully she’ll serve Collins better than she did us.
Thanks George for keeping us in the loop. But still, my head is starting to hurt.
George Thank you for the update and explanation. I’m sure many people have noticed and wondered. I had a conversation with one of my neighbors just yesterday as we noticed plenty around our shallows .
You’re welcome Jack. I heard from Scott Williams with the VLMP today, he said he’s received numerous other questions/inquiries about metaphyton this summer suggesting that the weather conditions (hot, dry, no rain) are at least partly responsible for stimulating metaphyton growth, but I wouldn’t blame it all on the weather by any means.
Are there health concerns we should be aware of George?
Hi Vanessa-
There are no health concerns that I am aware of from metaphyton. Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) on the other hand cause our algae blooms and in high enough concentrations can release toxins that can kill fish and other wildlife and pose a health risk to humans. It hasn’t gotten that bad here yet. See this page: Cyanobacteria: Blue-Green Algae
Kudos to Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson for taking interest and action for our plight. Let’s hope something good will com from this effort.
My sentiments exactly David.
I love the way they reminded the DEP what their job is.
Great letter. Many thanks to Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson.
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.
We all appreciate your efforts in keeping the website up to date. The website seemed to load quicker this AM, especially on my Dell Tablet which has a somewhat slow processor.
Well thanks David. I’m not seeing it myself because my pages aren’t cached, but the statistics suggest page load times have been cut in half.
Excellent letter!!!!
Yes!
Great letter!
I had a chance to poke around the site on a neighbor’s computer and I was super impressed with the speed improvement.
l will look forward to seeing it in operation. By the way, what is the model number?
It is a F19803P.
The back end integration of the original camera was rather complicated because the camera uploads an image with a name using a time-stamp so each uploaded picture name is unique… not what you want for a webcam page. I wrote a script which runs under cron to first archive the newly uploaded image, then rename it so when you bring up the web cam page it always loads the current image. The same cron job also deletes the archived images older than 2 weeks so they don’t fill up the disk. Fortunately, this new camera uses the same naming convention so I didn’t have to recreate the wheel, as it were, I could use the existing back end system to manage the uploads.
Cameras that are specifically designed to provide a static image updating regularly don’t require these shenanigans, but they also cost a lot more. Now that I’ve got those pieces worked out, it would be a fairly simple matter to add additional web cams using a similar camera…
I helped somebody install and configure tinyCam Monitor for Android to access the Clary Webcam the other day and thought it might be helpful to post the configuration parameters here:
Parameters used by tinyCam Monitor for Android app to access camera http://id3271.myfoscam.org:88
Camera name: “Clary Cam”
Vendor: FOSCAM
Model: FI9803P/FI9803EP
Hostname: id3271.myfoscam.org
Port: 88
Protocol: Proprietary
Username: guest
Password: 123abc
Channel number: 1
SSL: no
According to the PPM/AQF response to the NOV, Clary Lake rose 36.5″ after the September 30th storm in which we received about 5.5″ of rain. Really? 36.5″? Where’d they come up with that figure I wonder. I measured only a 16.5″ rise from that event.
Wooot. Congrats on the good news!
Tried Internet Explorer today using the Foscam plugin and it worked fine. I’m not a fan of IE but if that’s the browser you use, it will work fine to login to the camera.
Wow this post is seeing some traffic.You’d think people were like, all excited and stuff 🙂
What a great pond Clary Lake is. Worth fighting for. Keep up the good work.
It is comforting to finally see something in print that shows the truth of the dam situation. Maybe some progress can be made now!
Isn’t it though. It is good to see DEP being aggressively assertive.
Last year I posted a picture of a turkey made out of hot dogs. I thought better of it this year.
Took a similar video just days before and also marveled at the welcome water level just behind our weary damn. It’s been a long time since it looked this good, leaks and all.
I agree Stephen. It’s a fine dam in fundamentally good shape and just needs a little work. I wish Mr. Kelley would either sell us the dam or let us fix it for him.
A clear an concise report on the year’s events. You are to be commended for your hard work towards a solution of the dam problem. Thanks for the summary. I will be sure to send people to the website when they ask me “how is the dam situation?”
Thank you David. 2015 was a very busy year and I expect 2016 to be even busier!
George, Just finished reading and am disappointed with current outcome, as I am sure you and other members also. Just for clarity, At this time is the WLO being enforced or fines being imposed? OR is the Superior court appeal have these on hold?
I want to thank you and the board, along with others that have put in a lot of time and effort to find a resolution to this mess. As the old saying goes, it’s not over till it’s over!!! Keep the faith, Jack
Hi Jack- Sorry for not responding before now but I’ve been out straight! With settlement discussions over (at least for now), there is nothing keeping DEP from taking additional enforcement action so I think we can expect movement to resume. Additional enforcement action could take the form of an administrative consent decree, a civil suit, or just turning the matter over to the Attorney General’s Office to pursue. The water level order appeal in Superior Court is not on hold, it is just moving slowly.
I too am disappointed that the Board has withdrawn from settlement discussions. Perhaps, after the foreclosure on the dam is consummated the air will clear, and we may be able to continue discussions with the dam owner.
What happens to Long pond when this dam is removed?
Hi-
My understanding is there will be no effect on the level of Long Pond if the Coopers Mills dam is removed, they’re not hydraulically connected. Not even close. The Coopers Mills dam has an elevation of around 153 feet and the structure that determines the level of Long Pond is an old concrete weir (in disrepair) at what is called the Basin, located about 1/2 mile above the Coopers Mills dam at an elevation of about 178 feet.
Thanks for the info on the ice condition, I was wondering what was going on!
It’s pretty strange! I got an email from someone wondering how the falling water level affected the ice conditions. Basically, as the water level falls the ice hangs up on the shore causing the ice surface to become bowl-shaped. Cracks then form near and parallel to the shore line and water gushes up onto the surface, spreading out and adding weight to the surface, which then causes even more water to flow out onto the ice. As the lake continues to fall, pretty soon you’ve got a lot of water on the surface. Throw in some snow and warming temperatures and you’ve got the conditions we’re seeing now.
Nice George! Can you do a version using hot potatoes instead of coconuts?
🙂
If anyone is interested, I can make a copy of the NAIP_2015 map up to 24″ wide x 16″ high.
Nice David. I’d love one. How much would you charge?
David: we sure would like to obtain a copy. How much would it cost?
Thank you,
Lucy & Don Norman
LFNorman68@gmail.com
549-7686
That was good I have been following all your post this one made me laugh.
Hi Lucy- I talked to David about this, he’s charging $25 a print with $10 going to the CLA. Anyone who has a color printer can appreciate the cost!
The camera is well and truly dead. I’ll be shipping it back to the manufacturer to see what they can do with it. In the mean time, I’m taking up a collection for a new camera.
Sad
Very. I walked the better part of a mile in from the lake, I could see all the way up Clark’s Meadow Brook toward the Sennott Road. Not a muskrat house in sight.
George, Looks like you were having fun. Any idea how thick the ice is???
6″ at least, maybe a little more. With the recent rains and rising water level there are cracks (in some cases, LARGE cracks) and you can easily see the thickness. Around the shore it can be hard to get on the ice because of standing water in places.
Tony Marple and his son Keith with his 3 girls were out skating with Natasha Mayers, Barbara Welsh. Quite a crowd.
That is a great video, especially at the end.
I thought so! Sorry for jumping the gun, you concur on the 13th being the ice-out date I take it?
George,
I imagine you already know about the University of Iowa’s large repository of Chautauqua historical items that are available on line. I am running this by you just on the off chance that you are not aware of the repository. Most of the above people are covered by the university’s collection. By the way, Percy Hunt and Lucy Lee used to talk about a visitor to the farm one summer by the name of William Jennings Bryan. Keep up the good work!
Hi Shep! Actually I was NOT aware of the University of Iowa’s repository. I will however check it out and will pass the link onto Ms. Sacks. Thanks loads.
Here it is: Redpath Chautauqua Collection
Thanks George. A whole lot to swallow and digest here but I remain forever hopeful and cautiously optimistic that we will soon have our beloved Clary Lake, the way we remember it, returned to us.
Agreed Steve, a lot to process. I too am cautiously optimistic that a resolution is pending.
The lake fell 0.01′ (0.12″) since yesterday morning indicating the rate of fall has been cut in half since the gate was closed. We’ll see if the trend continues,
great report!
Thanks David. I think the conclusions that can be drawn from an analysis of our measured depths of the so-called “deep hole” are 1) the actual deepest part of the lake is pretty small and 2) the bottom in that area is pretty lumpy i.e., there are rocks and boulders down there.
I fished from 9 till1pm when that jet ski showed up, albeit from my canoe. While I enjoyed the morning’s quiet and having the lake all to myself I’d much rather be fishing from my garaged boat.
Even on a busy day Steve, Clary is a relatively quiet lake 🙂
And I don’t know why WordPress isn’t automatically approving your posts- it should…
OK I figured out why your posts wasn’t automatically approved- check box not checked. Should work now.
A couple of people apparently thought the image included in the post was a working form. It is not. Look on the right side of the screen right below the weather report!
This is, it goes without saying, really discouraging. My own sense is that this would be a good time to re-engage our legislators, to at the very least, request an accounting from DEP as to why the department is refraining from it’s statutory obligation to pursue enforcement.
Absolutely agree Malcolm.
This is an outrage to say the least. They have had more time to comply and it is clear they have no intentions of doing so. The court needs to step it up now and stop this once and for all. No one else is doing their job. Everyone else is letting Kelly get away with having things his way. The DEP has allowed this to drag on for 5 years now. What about the obligation to enforce the law and make people responsible for their actions or lack of them. Enough is enough already!!
Eve, thank you for sharing. I understand your outrage and share it. However, until we know more about what has transpired and where this is going, I’m going to hold my temper. However, as Malcolm suggests, DEP is going to have to be a lot more forthcoming, and soon. We can’t be left in the dark any longer. We have been exceedingly patient, but people are fed up.
Nice company logo. Vaguely reminiscent of the meaning of the word “medius.”
I though they were also to provide a repair plan for the damn dam?
Attorneys for Kelley (the dam owner) and Smith (the mill owner) were supposed to have presented a plan to repair the dam to DEP last week. Didn’t happen. I understand that a plan is still being worked on. There are a lot of players in this drama Jean, and the role that Medius L3C is supposed to play (besides owning a non-performing loan) isn’t entirely clear.
The agenda looks quite stimulating…all things lake…great opportunity for more knowledge…more ammunition against those that would harm ‘our’ lake.
So happy Daddy’s signs are once again needed. He’s smiling from Heaven
Your father was a good steward of Clary Lake.
So exciting…its been several years since we been able to watch a loon family on the lake. I hope the water level remains stable while the birds are nesting….
I wonder how long the nest has been there? It’s quite well hidden, you have to be really looking for it to see it so it’s not hard to imagine it’s been there a while- a week or so anyways. The Audubon Loon Count is July 16th this year and it is expected that loons will have fledged their young well before that. With a gestation period of 26-30 days, if the lake level can remain relatively stable for a couple of weeks and nothing else goes wrong, we should see babies in a couple of weeks.
With the lake falling only 0.01′ to 0.03′ per day now, the greatest risk is from flooding. Needless to say, if the lake were being maintained where it should be this time of year, flooding would not be an concern.
I’ll bet that Arlene has a good idea of when the loons starting sitting on the nest.
As a matter of fact, I just got back from their place, she said that Randy first noticed the nest about 5-6 days ago. That would be around June 12th or 13th and I suspect it has been there a while longer than that. I went over to check out how visibly accessible the nest is from there. Turns out VERY ACCESSIBLE! I’ll post some pictures later today.
I’m getting a new long range lens next week and will hopefully be able to post some good pics for everyone. We’re beside ourselves with excitement! Just praying the chicks make it.
That’ll be great! Thank you so much! This will be the best documented loon nest in Clary Lake history 🙂 Particularly want pictures of the nest showing both loons and with your vantage point you should be able to see into the nest and show the eggs when the nest is unoccupied.
I’m going to try hooking my camera up to a 6″ F/5 Newtonian telescope. It’s intended for stars and planets but should work passably well for terrestrial use as well with some minor modifications.
This is deeply discouraging. ‘Nuff said.
That about sums it up.
Deeply discouraging is nice way of expressing what we’re all feeling. “…give them more time this summer to raise money for the repairs…”? This is just plain BS, have them take out a loan for christsake! Our livelihoods have been held hostage for way too long!
Deeply discouraged indeed!
Well, for what it’s worth Stephen, dates have been set, actions and deadlines have been scheduled so it’s a stay in name only. Still…
Great pictures, George. I now have one of them as the background on my home computer. Extremely good resolution!
Why thank you Mary! They are surprisingly good given what I used to take them. Usually with an aperture that large (6″) and high magnifications you get atmospheric distortions (heat waves, air currents) and vibrations that impair image quality. Just hit the right combination of distance and exposure I guess!
I’ve added a few nesting loon pictures to the 2016 Loon Nest Gallery that David Hodsdon took.
Loon Eggs!
I just uploaded some new pictures that Arlene sent me this morning showing the loons maneuvering around on the nest, muddy breast and all. See the 2016 Loon Nest Gallery
I was able to download and run the file easily. It could have been a bit louder
Turn your speakers up? It is the sound track of a video recorded with a Nikon D60 camera. I actually thought it was pretty good considering. I extracted the audio and chopped off the ends to isolate the loon calling. What I don’t know about working with audio/video files would fill a book David!
Sounds great here in southern Colorado!
🙂
Can’t get mine to play ???
I checked the server logs and it appears from the user agent string that your browser is sending that you might be using Internet Explorer. Is that the case? I just tried IE and indeed, it won’t play the loon audio track. I don’t think there’s anything I can do to fix that problem on my end, it appears it is a browser compatibility issue. Try another browser, like Chrome or Firefox and let me know if it works.
George, you’ll soon be eligible for your Eagle Scout birding merit badge! In any case, great looking and wonderful pictures: thanks.
🙂
Its like a jungle out there! Very disconcerting!
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Anyone members who can’t make it to the meeting and want a proxy ballot for the bylaws question, email me and I’ll send you a proxy ballot which you should fill out, scan, and send back to me. Alternatively, you can just email me your proxy for the meeting.
George, if somebody would buy my husband a ticket to fly there from Louisiana he be happy to help with the cookout and The Rock moving. I doubt that they’ll be any takers for that but want you to know how much we as residents of Clary Lake appreciate all the other residents are doing to better the environment for all of us. Kate seba
Hi Kate- I wouldn’t be telling your husband to pack his bags, but the thought it appreciated 🙂
Sorry Eleanor and I can’t be there: sounds as if a good time will be had by all!
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Dee Ann Grazioso (pictured in the group photo above) to Clary Lake. She recently bought Howard Nickerson’s property up on the east side of the northern end of the great meadow next to Sue & Bill McKeen’s property. It’s an absolutely beautiful spot, all it needs is some water! Dee was our first 2016/2017 member this year.
It was me, not Ernie, who ruined the prop!
I stand corrected!
Welcome Dee Ann and thanks for your help and membership.
Awesome job, everybody! Thank you!!!!!!
What a fabulous event, that we were sorry to miss. Kudos to everyone for hard work, smart thinking about the best way to carry out the project, and particularly to Erin for providing the Momentum for this and whatever is the next exciting activity.
I’ve had to move my waterline twice in the last two weeks. I’m hoping I still have running water available for the holiday weekend!
Thanks George, I’m staying tuned.
FYI, finally got my boat in the water today with a lot of help from Dave Knight. After dragging off the trailer we then had to drag across the rocks to water deep enough to float. The channel cleared at the boat launch is only ankle deep Can’t imagine what it would have been like without all the work done last weekend. Sure hope we get a few inches of rain before its time to take boat out :):)
You could probably float a kayak or canoe to the end of the ramp, but I’m surprised you got your boat in at all. This morning we hit a new high in lows: -66.96″ below the top of the dam. You’ve never seen it this low.
Yup, canoe or kayak if your not in it :):) Anyway, found a few hungry fish. Will see if the hurricane comes up the coast and fill the lake :):)
Not a chance.
I for one hope the Judge is as interested as I am in hearing what Art Enos and Medius L3C have to say. Surely he’ll want the testimony of the actual title-holder of the dam?
George, I agree. I’m even more interested to learn what aspect of discovery R. Smith objects to, and on what basis.
Ok, I’ll be # 90 🙂
There you see? It works! Thanks Ken!
Thanks George.
You’re welcome Jack. People don’t inform me about broken links, missing pages, why should they say anything about a problematic menu layout?
George,
Love all the work you do on this. Thank you so much.
I do want you to know that the drop downs were working well on my I Pad and I Phone. I could negotiate the site with ease. This fix has resulted in none of the drop downs working on my I pad or I Phone. Everything works fine on my MAC.
Best regards,
Karen Stutzer
21 Hornpout Lane
Karen!
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I get so little feedback from site visitors I’ve almost (but not quite) stopped even soliciting it.
I will look into this issue further. A commercial site would have QA engineers and a team of site testers to vet changes before they’re rolled out to make sure nothing breaks. Alas, that does not describe our site. It’s just me, trying as best I can to provide a functional and easy to navigate site.
I do utilize Google Analytics to monitor site traffic but again, it’s just me on this end and my time is limited. A quick peek shows that out of the last 878 sessions mobile users accounted for 349 of them and of those, 165 used Android OS and 149 used iOS. So iPhone users are a significant percentage of site visitors.
I’ll do some research into this menu issue and see if there’s something I can do to remedy this. If you don’t mind, I’ll ask you to do some additional testing.
Thanks George. I am subscribed to the updates and go to the site whenever one comes to my e mail. I really do appreciate your attention to keeping us all in the loop. I will be happy to do testing. The Apple products are awesome when they work and a challenge to deal with when they don’t.
Karen
I’m surprised more people don’t subscribe to updates. I know nothing about Apple products. Once I sat down at a Mac and when I saw that the mouse only had one button, I freaked out 🙂
Thanks for the update, I had been using a mouse with my tablet! Your work on the website is greatly appreciated.
Glad it’s working better for you David! Still digging into the iOS problem. Hopefully I’ll find a solution that makes EVERYONE happy 🙂
As of this afternoon, we’ve receive 7 memberships: 2 renewals 5 new members! We’re not up to 97 🙂
I am pleased, and impressed!
George, thanks for taking the time and effort to get this organized for the casual reader. You are the super-Secretary cum laude for the CLA!
I sure try Malcolm!
Anyone else have any feedback on these changes? Good, bad, indifferent?
He was a wonderful smart man, and will be dearly misssed.
This single post has been viewed more than any other single post on this website ever.
George, thank you so much for posting, I shared it on FaceBook and friends and family alike have commented and shared. He loved the lake!
You’re entirely welcome Leslie, it was the least I could do. I meant every word; I only regret that I didn’t get to know Chris even better.
Thomas called me this morning, he thanked me as well. He wants copies of the photographs on your Facebook page. He’s coming over in a few days and I’m going to show him a thing or two about using Facebook 🙂
Incidentally, this post has gone viral. It has been viewed 343 times since I put it up which makes it the single most popular post on this website ever. That’s a tribute to how many people knew and loved your husband.
Regards,
George-
Since reaching our Membership goal of 100 members last Friday, we’ve added 6 more, bringing our total to 106. Way to go people!
George, Perhaps Mr. Enos would have better luck selling his property if he were to LOWER the asking PRICE to $575,000 and to include the Title to the Clary Lake Dam. Also, the caveat that the Clary Lake Association is more than happy to work with ANY person owning the dam and the WLO that is in place. I hope his broker is giving full disclosure as to WHO owns the DAM. Potential BUYERS BEWARE.
For what it’s worth Bill, Enos doesn’t hold title to the Clary Lake dam any more, he assigned the mortgage to Medius L3C back in July 2015:
05 January 2016: Enos assigns Clary Lake dam mortgage to Maine company
I know, it’s hard to keep your eye on the ball 🙂
Enos Property listed. Recreational Water: “Waterfront Deep.” Maybe the lakes water level is coming back up. He He.
Yeah that’s pretty funny. From the picture taken at the top of his boat ramp, it doesn’t look all that deep.
I hate when that happens !!!!
The lightning was so close there was no thunder —- It wiped out 2 phones in addition to the webcam and its power supply!!!
You’re lucky that’s all that happened. I talked to David Knight yesterday, he said he and Gayle were out on their porch watching the storm and saw the lightning flash over by your house. It must have been close…
Pingback: 18 September 2016: NIDIS Drought Meter Now Online | Clary Lake Association
Interesting to know what is actually going on!
What most people don’t understand is that hacking is a constant threat.
There are 4.20 miles± (22,200’±) of shore front property in Whitefield that is owned by people who are not members of the Association. That’s a lot of shore front property. For comparison, in Jefferson, there are only 0.6 miles± of shore front property (3100’±) that belongs to people who are not members. This doesn’t include the Boat Launch property belonging to the State of Maine.
well done! Knowing who your neighbor is should bring us a little closer together. If you haven’t joined the Association, do it now.
Thanks David.
You can include me George. I’m usually not far from my computer.
OK Skip! Same here! Thanks!
Hey George I understand the site’s proper operation is important but what’s happening with our lake lately?
By commenting on this post, you’ve agreed to help test! Thanks! As for what’s happening with our lake lately… sadly, nothing new to report since the October 5th Clary Lake Water Level Order Update.
Happy to help.
Thanks Steve. You bring us to 18 people willing to submit to George’s Email Abuse!
Count me in.
You were already on the list, but thanks for volunteering 🙂
always willing to help. By the way, Time Warner (roadrunner.com) automatically puts “suspicious” email into a spam folder. This can be disabled and then “suspicious” emails are sent on with a prefix word of SPAM. I found it was quite agressive.
Thanks David, I’ll add you to the list. I think we’re up to 22 or so, not including a couple of bogus addresses I added for testing bounce management.
That’s interesting about Time Warner. They’ve all gotten more exuberant.
As soon as I’ve rounded up 30 people to help test, I’ll start. We’re at 23.
I’m up to 30 victims…. I mean volunteers, and will start sending test emails soon.
G-
Of course, as soon as I published this post, something broke! Working on it.
So there has been a plugin conflict plaguing me ever since I started work on this caching engine problem. It would crop up almost (but not quite) randomly and I’ve been unable to determine what was conflicting with what. Until now. I do believe I’ve figured it out.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: it’s not a job, it’s an adventure!
A definite improvement on my slow windows 8 tablet. I noticed that the images for the webcams are 3 days old. Having the reply info pre-loaded is a nice touch!
Glad you approve David. I’ve sure noticed a speed improvement! I found I had to refresh the webcam page to get the current images to show up. Looking for how to exclude the campics from the far-in-the-future expiration.
OK, I’ve set the expiration for all images named “campic.jpg” to “now” plus 2 minutes. This should resolve the problem of people’s browsers caching the campics. Let me know if you still see a problem.
I’ve also gotten rid of the sharing buttons on the News page, they now only show up when viewing individual posts. This has raised the News page score to a B 🙂
I’m pretty psyched. The Yslow Benchmark results:
Grade B Overall performance score 86 Ruleset applied: Small Site or Blog
First email went out yesterday, not without it’s issues. It appears 5 or 6 emails failed to send because of a bad cached password in my browser. How does that even happen?
Nicely summarized, George! You working on a new career as a limnologist?
No, I’m retired!
Thanks for the informative report on the water quality this year. In one sense we were lucky it didn’t rain much because it minimized the runoff. On the other hand, the lack of rain, combined with the open dam, resulted in lowest water level that I’ve ever seen on the lake.
The drought has served to partially mitigate what would otherwise have been a record-setting algae bloom and generally poor water quality, brought on by reduced lake volume and high phosphorus levels resulting from the record low water levels in Clary Lake. ALL the pieces were in place. Normal rains in June, July, and August would have pushed conditions over the edge so in that sense, and only that sense, the drought was “lucky.”
A few people have emailed me asking why we’re just finding out about this now. I too am puzzled as to why the DEP failed to make this news public back in June or at least brought it to my attention.
Thanks for all your work George.
Somebody’s gotta do it!
I want to add my appreciation of your efforts in keeping track of water conditions around the lake. Only time will tell the benefits of collecting such information!
Sorry for the initial mis-post!
All good advise, thank you.
Oh go ahead and overeat then. What was I thinking?
George, I can’t get to the rest of your post. It just brings up a site map. Is something wrong with the site
Kate- I emailed you. I’m not sure what your problem is. If you’re using a smartphone, it might be related to the mobile theme. I’ve disabled it temporarily. Let me know if your issue continues.
Hi Kate- So I borrowed my wife’s smartphone and tested the site with and without the mobile theme enabled. It appears when the mobile theme is enabled, people using smartphones to access the site are presented with a site map of every page on the site, below which is the regular content. Perhaps you just needed to scroll down further? You were able to leave a comment I notice.
Hate it when people have problems with the site. I think for now I will leave the mobile theme disabled until I can get more feedback from smartphone users.
Between Facebook and this site, this post has so far reached 826 people and views don’t appear to be slowing down.
The owner of the pie plate has been located and the plate returned.
Would it make sense to look for someone with a plow on a 4-wheeler, rather than waiting for ice thick enough for a pick-up? Seems as if skaters would be fine with enough ice for a smaller vehicle. Just a thought…
It probably does Malcolm and I’m open to all suggestions! I was going to check with the Whitefield Snowmobile Club to see if they had any ideas.
Boy it looks completely frozen over this morning. At 0° I’m not surprised. Will check with David H. for the official verdict.
The ice boat is still sitting where we left it, I grabbed this picture off of ClaryCam3 this morning:
Excellent summary, Mr. Secretary, and your continuing dedication to the cause is by itself a matter to celebrate. May the New Year bring us glad tidings!
Thank you Mr. President. I’m in this for the duration.
George, Thank you and all others involved in your tireless efforts and many hours spent towards reaching the goal of making our lake “whole” once again. Very much appreciated.
Despite the lack of progress towards implementation of the water level order, the increase in membership and community engagement are very positive accomplishments! Secretary George Fergusson is virtually singlehandedly responsible for the increase in membership…..THANK-YOU George for all your hard work and commitment!
Thank you Mary. Here’s to 2017!
Received George, thanks. Happy New Year !!!!
Well the post made it over to Facebook, but without the picture 🙁
Happy New Year to you Jack 🙂
We may have trouble live streaming this. The internet connection at Sheepscot General may not be fast enough. I’ll test an actual live session it as soon as I get a chance.
Paul A. Kelly strangeness notwithstanding, what happening with our lake lately? Been a while with no word, promising or otherwise. Any updates? Thanks
Hi Stephen- We’re basically waiting for the court cases to moving forward. Wish they’d move more quickly. On the 80C proceeding, I spoke to Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak last week and he tells me the ball is in Pretiflaherty’s court. Aquafortis Associates has an outstanding motion for discovery that Scott fully expects the Judge to deny. Then the appeal can move forward. I also have spoken to Bob Rubin recently, and from what he tells me it’s pretty clear his lawsuit has Kelley and Smith sweating.
Perhaps that sweat will help add to the lake level?
Well the lake level has been up somewhat… but I don’t think that’s the reason!
In a little over 3 months, without excessive rainfall, the lake has come up 31″ since reaching it’s low back on October 20th.
I wonder how many people are going to show up for this event? The number of people that can safely ride on an ice carousel depends on the diameter of the ice carousel and the thickness of the ice. Keeping in mind Archimedes “Eureka” moment and the general rule of thumb that “9/10 of an iceberg is underwater”, we can easily calculate how much weight a given carousel can hold up.
Hmmm….
This is so GREAT! Thanks to all who participated. I’m already looking forward to next year!
Now if the dam stayed closed till spring I’d be a happy camper…and lakeshore owner!
Thanks, George!
Hey don’t mention it. Kudos if you managed to watch the whole thing!
Interesting!!! Fun watching the sunsets and the trees change color.
Sad to watch the water level drop.
Noted very little human activity. More ducks than people.
Happy to see the tree shadows getting SHORTERER!!!! YAY! Here comes Spring!!
Made it all the way through but need to rest my eyes now. :-))
What did you think of the sound track? Margaret thought it was scary, and depressing.
And yes, not a lot of boat traffic. Stephen Viti and me mostly, and I think I spotted Jack Holland’s boat out there on the ledges once. There were many days with NO boat traffic of any sort, thanks to the boat launch being unusable.
And yes, sad to watch the water level drop. Reached it’s lowest level ever of -67.20″ below the normal high water mark on October 9, 2016.
PPM has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning liquidation, not reorganization.
I should have pointed out that based on those 2 “issues” with the WLO, AQF has asked the Judge to throw out the WLO. Not going to happen.
Ya know, sometimes you see brilliant business prowess, successful, meaningful projects that provide benefit for all. The fruit of good will, coming from compassion and a source of real being.
Then sometimes….
Since when does the DEP decline to enforce special condition 3 re: repair? What does that mean?
C
Well when the Order was issued even I raised an eyebrow when I read special condition 3 which states in part:
The fact is that DEP lacks the authority under the Water Level Law to tell a dam owner to repair their dam. They can however specify a water level regime to be adhered to. So the complaint of “You can’t make me fix the dam.” is valid. What the DEP should have said is “Here’s the water level regime you must comply with. Have a nice day.” Then if the dam owner has to fix the dam to comply, well that’s their problem isn’t it. What DEP was trying to do was assure that the dam was in good operational order before the dam owners would be expected to comply with the water level order.
Another case of PPM and AQF nitpicking over details rather than complying with the Order.
The Clary Lake Water Level Order contained a few mistakes when issued, and despite the fact that none of them were particularly egregious or compromised the intent of the Order, Paul Kelley nonetheless was quick to exploit them in an attempt to short circuit the WLO implementation.
The Town of Whitefield has received notice of the bankruptcy.
Merrily we roll along.
Several people have told me about seeing a red pickup truck parked at the dam several times last month and a man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt poking around in the mill pond above the Clary Lake dam, apparently tending traps A beaver trapper? Did the dam owner hire a someone to trap out the beaver? Plausible. Trapping season for beaver in this area ended March 31st.
Little happens at the Clary Lake dam that I don’t find out about… One of the benefits of living in a small town.
“There were no issues getting water to the scene due to its proximity to Clary Lake, Higgins said.”
“It’s a valuable water source and it helped preserve the house. If this happened last summer, we would have had a problem” due to the low water level, he said.
So sorry to hear about the fire, but thankful the main part of the house was saved. It’s a landmark on Clary Lake, and certainly a landmark in the Fergusson family. We wish all of you the best as you deal with the reclamation. —Genie & Jim
Thank you Genie. We will carry on.
I would encourage people to leave comments on this article on Central Maine Papers website. It is easy enough to do and well worth the effort to let readers know how you feel about this ongoing travesty.
Just Do It.
Come on people, get out there and comment!
Comment overheard today at the corner store:
“Beavers? Why didn’t we think of that!” 🙂
Well it turns out Pleasant Pond Mill owes the town considerably more than $335 for back taxes. Big surprise.
Notice how the frame rate and the music beat are in synch?
Great summary of Lake matters. Spring is in the air, very upbeat!
George, this is a great overview. Hope all members will take the opportunity to read this.
Great info George, thanks for doing this. As a note, it would be helpful to have the default of the data on the page to be most recent on top rather than the bottom. That way I don’t have to scroll to the bottom to see the latest. When I try to reverse the order of the list on my browser it cuts data out so that is not helpful.
Thanks
Hi Steve- It’s nice to see someone is actually looking at the data! Your request is reasonable, and you’re correct: sorting on the date column doesn’t actually reverse the order of the rows because it’s a numeric-sort, not a date-sort. I was aware of this issue and figured I’d address it when someone complained 🙂
There is no convenient way to reverse the ordering of rows of the table. To solve the problem, I’ve added a numeric column in position 1 which you CAN perform a numeric sort on. Give it a try. You have to click on the column heading twice to get it to reverse because the first click sorts it in ascending order, the second click sorts it in descending order.
People who are paying attention will have noticed that at 3.30 meters (10.8′) the secchi disk reading was shallow compared to average readings for this time of year. You’d expect such a secchi disk reading in mid-summer when algae is beginning to grow. I suspect the reason is due to suspended particles in the water column as a result of sediment introduced with spring runoff which has been significant this spring.
I think you can forget about eating there as reservations for the whole season opened at midnight April 15 at midnight…and were overwhelmed by 15000 requests. Maybe next year.
Heh! You and a few other people have said the same thing. Reservations currently looking at 2018. Also appears to be rather expensive… no I’m not big on eating out to begin with, and when I do I rarely head for the most expensive place I can find. Oh well! I will still visit the place soon to check out the mill and dam. Expect pictures.
After reading about The Lost Kitchen and the restoration of the Freedom Falls Grist Mill, imagine what life on Clary Lake might be like now if a competent and conscientious developer had gotten their hands on the Clary mill.
We’ve eaten there, and it’s pretty dam(n) good. But I think you’ll find a tour through the mill enlightening. Of course, the whole project involved more than $1M…which I think is a little more than PPM/AFA has or ever had available.
So I’ll take the tour and skip the dinner. As for Kelley and Smith, lack of financing wasn’t their problem.
I’m thinking they have no souls?
I think I’ll just leave this one alone.
I’m looking forward to reading the newsletter!
It’s encouraging that the Loons have nested once again this year. I hope Paul will take notice and adjust the dam gate to minimize any further lowering of the lake until the Loon chicks hatch. Here’s to good stewardship of nature!!!
Yes! Please Mr. Kelley..please find it in your plan, whatever that is, to at least let this natural occurance play out…let’s show how responsible we humans can be…
And thank you, George, always keeping us informed of the technicalities and the natural wonders right in our back yard…you are a gem!
George, this is just terrific !! What a delightful sight to see again after all these years. I could watch this for every day. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. You are simply the best!
Eve Kinney
For what it’s worth, the remote VLC connection is only working for ClaryCam 3. I’ll debug the problem with the other cams when I have a little more time.
Great news, George, and I completely agree that this reflects a growing interest in the work of the Association and its presence in the community.
And here it is, 2 days later and we’ve already gone from 104 to 110, only 9 shy of last year’s total and climbing. The new members include a first-time-ever member, the North Whitefield Superette! Many Thanks to Steve and Deedee!
I think the “good faith effort” refers not to the mediation, but rather to the negotiations that took place last fall between DEP and the parties to come to an agreement on a Consent Decree that would get them out from under the NOV in return for repairs to the dam. It was to this end that they got the engineering assessments and tried to do major fund raising. I think it came to nothing because DEP/the AG’s office would not agree to Tony Buxton’s requested changes to the Water Level Order language.
I at first thought so too but concluded Madore was talking about the mediation because he followed that up by saying the NOV was issued, whereas the “good faith effort” you’re referring to happened AFTER the NOV was issued, in 2016. But it’s a moot point: DEP has repeatedly worked to bring about a settlement with Kelley and Smith, as has the Clary Lake Association.
“I genuinely feel for the people who have houses around the lake. This is an ongoing tragedy that should have had a resolution by now,” he says.
Great picture of Bob Rubin and Cheryl Ayer, if I do say so myself.
Susan did a great job. I particularly liked Kelsey’s comments, and how well that sounded as a description of the situation. Now the test will be what DEP does next.
This article was picked up by the Bangor Daily News:
A dam broke and these Mainers can’t get their lake back unless a judge lets them
Yesterday’s secchi disk reading was 3.95 m.
Test Comment! Don’t read! Oops! You read it!
Beavers FTW!
There are a lot of numbered citations to documents in the Administrative Record. You’ll find those here:
DEP Administrative Record filed 8-17-2016
Not wasting any time, trap has been set. From the circumstances, I assume an IF&W agent set it.
Beaver Trap
This canoe has been reunited with it’s owner, Kelsie French’s nephew (sorry I forget his name). He bailed it out and paddled it home that same afternoon.
Karma is a bitch as we all know and he has done so many unthinkable things. Kelley has been a menace to all of us for to many years. We reap what we sow and it is about time he get his and then some. So many people have had to bear this injustice for far to long. I have no sympathy for this self centered man. Punishment comes in many different ways. I guess this is just one of many to come to him!
I know a lot of people feel the way you do Eve, and I can’t blame them. Part of me derives some satisfaction at seeing Kelley’s life fall apart, but I must remember what this is all about: I just want our lake back. Kelley losing his house doesn’t really help with that.
Oh sure, now let’s allow Kelley to argue his mute point to the Supreme Court. What a joke this is, if they allow this to continue. Just a total disgrace for all of us.
They’ve indicated their intention to take this to the Supreme Court from the very beginning. It isn’t clear however if the Law Court will take this case. We’ll see.
I also think it behooves us to think positively and don’t bleed before we’re shot!
As long as this debacle has been going on I think I’ll start stockpiling bandages.
Know anyone looking for a great deal on a currently overpriced former lakeside cottage?
Hang in there Stephen. We’re closer to the end than the beginning.
Is everyone enjoying this brief? I’ve just re-read it (second time) while referring to numerous AR citations and I gotta say, AQF’s arguments have been admirably debunked and dismissed. Hat’s off to Attorney Scott Boak who clearly has a thorough and superior grasp of the elements of this case.
That was a good read, though it took two viewings to get through it. Let’s hope this gets us on our way to the way things were before Kelly came to town.
I have no doubt we’ll prevail in this battle. Kelley and Smith will rue the day they came to town.
Thank you, George, a very cogent summary. It will be interesting to hear the oral arguments, when AAG Boak will have the opportunity to summarize and make a more forceful presentation than the bare recitation of facts. I’m mostly puzzled by the fact that the brief says very little about PK and who might actually “own” the dam.
Heh- well no question in my mind about who owns the dam 🙂
I would like to add my thanks to the Association Officers and Board for their efforts during the past year. Enjoy a football game!
Dec 14th update: The Geese and white “goose” have been hanging out front in the morning. We saw the white “goose” fly in this morning. It appears it is actually a Swan; either a whistler or Trumpet Swan. It is a beautiful bird when flying!
Sure enough. I’ll post the picture you sent me.
We all thank you for your steady efforts in keeping track of the lake level!!!!
Thanks David. It’s a labor of love that has gotten harder to perform with each passing winter!
Wouldn’t miss it for the world.
🙂
George, I was not able to attend. I still don’t see any news in the Lincoln County News, can you give me a quick recap???
I’m working on a post right now Steve. Look for it later this afternoon!
Thanks for the update – I guess I had a few moments of fame once again!
Yep. For some reason, after Connolly introduced your chart, he actually turned around and asked if David Hodsdon was in the room. I shook my head.
He also started his oral arguments by noting how nice it was so many people from the community showing an interest in these proceedings.
George,
You are THE MAN! Thanks for all of your time and hard work tending to this lake fiasco. Hope to see you and Margaret this summer to celebrate. Ronnie Spann (Diane Grant’s son)
Hi Ronnie, thanks for the kudos. Really, the person to thank is Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak for putting together a great defense of the Water Level Order. All I’ve try to keep people informed and maintain public interest in this matter so it doesn’t get forgotten.
GREAT NEWS!!!!! FINALLY!!!
Thank you so much!
Your welcome Dedi, though really, it’s DEP and Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak who deserve the credit. All I’ve been doing is pushing a rope for the past 7 years 🙂
Great to know that a special turtle (or it’s offspring) may reclaim it’s spot on a sunny log at the shallow end of the lake. The turtles were often found basking in the warm sun from the time I was six years old. I am 72 years old now. What a wonderful lake. Thanks for reclaiming it.
We have a ways to go before we can really celebrate, but I share your optimism. We’ve won a big battle.
So, was an appeal filed today???
Hi Steve- I called the courthouse yesterday about 2 PM and there had been no appeal filed. I also heard recently from another source that Preti Flaherty no longer represents Aquafortis Associates LLC which is pretty much the Kiss of Death for an appeal: the chances AQF can find a lawyer willing to represent them in a Law Court appeal of the recent ruling are slim to none 🙂
I will be calling the courthouse later this morning just to confirm there has been no appeal and will then write a post for the website.
Hi George,
I’m working on the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program in Maryland. Just wanted to ask about the two images which could be compared. Could you please share them with me? I see that it’s a gif format of the chart. I’m currently comparing the results of two months of Deep Creek Lake. But I’d be grateful for the info on February you’ve got. Need to see the changes and the probable dependence.
Thanks,
Ray (my Facebook – razor331)
Have we sent you a proxy?
Hi Dedi, I have not received a proxy from you.
I’ve emailed you.
I would have left a comment on the KJ site but it would require letting Disqus have access to my Facebook profile and friends list. No thanks!
Incredible and gratifying!
Isn’t it though!
I know, what are the chances, right?
Need to send the emails to me. Ken has difficulty opening his email.
I’ll take care of it Dedi!
Thanks to everyone that made this possible. It is truly gratifying to see us reach the goal for purchase AND initial repairs of the dam in the time allocated to raising funds for the purchase phase. I am excited to see what our efforts hold for the future of the lake.
I must have missed previous reference to an Underground Storage Tank? What’s that about?
Yup. So it turns out there’s an old underground storage tank on the property, abandoned since the early 1960s. We didn’t learn of it until after we’d already started fundraising and after due diligence, concluded it was a non-issue and not a reason to change direction. As the land owner, it’s really Kelley’s responsibility to deal with it, but we know he’s not going to do anything about it. We’ve already made arrangements for it to be taken care of at no cost to us, once we own the property. We just can’t do anything about it before then. Interesting how the Trustee and the State are spinning it to make the Clary Lake Association look like environmental heroes in the eyes of the court! Along with the Water Level Order, it’s yet another deterrent to anyone else coming in and deciding they’d like to own a dam. I won’t say it’s a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing. It just is.
Everyone able to stream the audio OK?
Thanks so much for the updates. So appreciate everyone ‘s efforts.
Thank you Karen. Yesterday was a delay, not a loss. The evidentiary part of the proceeding is over, it took longer than I had expected but Smith and Kelley failed to introduce any damning information. The court IS going to sell us the dam, the only question is how that sale is going to be structured. Either way, we’ll end up with the dam free and clear.
We spent the better part of the 4th of July working out the details of a settlement with Richard Smith, and arrived in court Thursday morning thinking there was an agreement to settle only to learn that Richard Smith and Aquafortis Associates LLC had backed out of the agreement. The details of the agreement and the reason for reneging on it are not relevant because there is no longer an agreement. Suffice it to say we expected a short and sweet hearing concluding with the Judge approving the transfer of the dam to the Clary Lake Association free and clear of encumbrances. That didn’t happen.
Hi George.
I contacted you previously letting you know we might be interested in moving to your area. Your dam problem has captured our attention and we have been following. We’re sorry the deal fell through to purchase the dam. Are there any plans to move forward or are you at a standstill?
Thanks,
Annette
Hi Annette!
THE DEAL DID NOT FALL THROUGH!!! We’re still on track to purchase the Clary Lake dam, it’s just been delayed a while. There will be oral arguments in a few weeks and then the Judge will rule on the sale. At this point there is little question whether the Judge will approve the sale of the dam or not, the only question is how the sale will be structured. Either way we’ll end up with the dam. We’ve waited 7 years, we can wait a little longer.
Thank you for your reply. We’re a little anxious about buying property on a lake that has had level problems involving legal issues for so long. We just want to keep informed.
I understand.
Good job Kelsie, glad to have you aboard !!!
We’re going to need a bigger boat!
Kelsie, that’s great, and thanks for joining the team. I’ll look forward to seeing you on the water.
We pulled three of these plants on our shore last week.
Excellent!
I’m not in the area any longer, but you are welcome to wander my part of the meadow and pull anything you like!
There’s 300 acres of marsh out there…
Since the milfoil in Cobbossee almost certainly arrived on the propeller or hull of a boat that had been in an affected lake previously, we have the modest grace (??) that until we have normal water, nobody’s launching from the boat ramp.
Boat ramp use has been limited, but not non-existent.
George, what’s the purpose of an oral ruling as opposed to a ruling/decision or whatever the final judgement is called?
Good question Steve. It turns out that judges often “rule from the bench.” Sometimes they’ve written a decision which they read it in court and then file, sometimes they just wing it without writing a decision. Perhaps in this case the reason the judge decided to rule in open court is because there are a lot of moving parts in this bankruptcy and the Judge wants to issue his ruling in person so he can address any lingering issues…. the sale motion has been vehemently objected to, both by Richard Smith and Aquafortis Associates, but also by the debtor himself: both Kelley and Smith took the stand and testified in opposition to the sale motion.
So I don’t see it as a bad thing at all, but I would caution everyone from reading too much into it.
My friends of Clary Lake,
I know tomorrow is the judge’s ruling on the dam. I have been following your story. We will be in Maine Oct. 8 to look at 98 N. Clary Rd. We don’t know what we will find but we have been praying about it and for your situation. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God tells us that
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We stand in agreement with you all that God has heard your cries for help and that he WILL heal your land.
We’ll be watching for the results of tomorrow’s hearing. Blessings.
Today’s the day Annette. Thank you for your blessings.
My dear friends of Clary Lake,
Yesterday I stood with you in agreement that God would hear our prayer and heal your land. Today I say, John 14:13
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
This is the first step in healing the lake, land, and wildlife. I am thrilled for you!
We are excited to come look at the property. Whatever we decide, congratulations! God is with you!
Annette and Stephen Vandel
So happy, congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on this!
Yaaay!! Good work, George, et al!
About Time! So thankful for everyone’s hard work over those 7 years. It’s been sad to see this wonderful piece of heaven destroyed along with its wildlife. I can’t wait to see it back to its former glory! Congratulations!
It’s almost too amazing to believe after all this time! Congratulations to the CLA and all its patient and persevering members!
Thanks for all your efforts George. without your steadfast persistence we would not be where we are today!
George, This is a GREAT ending ( and new beginning) to a long ordeal. Many thanks to the members and supporters of the CLA. Especially to you George for spearheading and diligently guiding us through the seemingly never ending process. Your leadership & dedication are very much appreciated. Thank you, the Holland family
It looks great and ready for repairs. Do we have any word from Linkel on being able to start this Fall or not?
I am going to come out the last week of November/first week of December to coordinate some construction on my property. I will likely also take care of the brush pile, feel free to stop by and enjoy the bonfire!
Hi Steve- Linkel Construction has every intention of getting on our project later this fall, and DEP is committed to seeing the lake level restored in time for the start of the upcoming open water season. We’re busy trying to pull all the pieces together to make it happen- permitting, money, etc.
Let us know when you’re planning on burning and we’ll round up some people to come help 🙂
I tell ya, it’s pretty sketchy underneath the red building. I was last under there back in 1995 when Art Enos bought the dam from Chester Chase and hired Ron Bourassa to make some repairs. I’ve been thinking the building would be nice for the Association to own, but seeing what it looks like underneath and what’s holding it up… Now I’m not so sure. Seems like more of a hazard than an asset. I wonder what Richard Smith’s plans are for it?
Wondering what the Readers Digest version for the history of the building is. Did anyone actually live in it and why was it built on the dam?
Well originally I understand it was to house men working at the Clary Mill. Albert Boynton was born in that read building back in the early 1920’s. Albert lives diagonally across the road from the dam in a white cape. More recently, Chester Chase used it as a real estate office back in the 70’s and 80’s then as some point he sold it to his nephew Stephen Smith (Jr.) who used it for a law office. It was sold by Smith to Pleasant Pond Mill LLC in 2006, around the same time PPM bought the dam.
I stopped at the dam for a quick look the other day and was curious if the area just above and to the left of the pipe was the only area of concern, or if a more thorough tuckpoint/rehab was going to be required before the dam would be able to withstand the expected water forces on the upstream side of the dam.
That hole above and left of the outlet gate is the primary concern. We’ll also be sealing the upstream face of the dam against leaking.
If the “We Fixed the Dam” party is the first week of December, I will be happy to provide the materials for a toasty warm bonfire near the dam.
That could work out Steve. In any case, it’s a great time for a bonfire!
This is awesome for those of us that can’t be there to watch it real time, thanks for doing this George.
For posterity Steve 🙂
Thanks for sharing pictures of progress on the dam. It sure is exciting that we are whare we are today!!!
I think I love gunite!!!
I sure do 🙂
Curious how much time there is left to complete the work should lower levels provide the opportunity?
There is no deadline for repairs Steve. We have all the time we need. Maybe I didn’t understand your question? Cold weather really isn’t a problem, the contractor pours concrete all winter with more or less heat applied depending on the temperature, so it really is about waiting for low enough water. We’re shedding a LOT of water and if we can get a couple of weeks without much rain, we’ll be all set. We’re still hoping to have repairs completed before the end of the year.
Building a cofferdam between the narrow gauge railroad abutments would allow us to finish the repairs NOW and we asked Richard Smith for permission to do that, but he has chosen to be uncooperative. Apparently, he’s more interested in thwarting our repair efforts than helping us restore controlled outflows. That’s OK. We’ve waited 7 years, we can wait a little longer. Success is assured.
Amazing crew and a job well done. Thank you to all of the crew of PCS Construction and a very Merry Christmas to all !!!
It’s a great Christmas present for sure 🙂
PCS has a pretty cool Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PeaseConstructionServices/
I checked the lake level impact after closing the gate yesterday, skiing out to the marshland today about 3:00p.m. The moon was rising with the lady’s graceful face approving of all that we’ve done for the lake. The distance to the marsh/channel entry gave me time to take in the hibernating lakeshore cottages, feeling the coming joy at having their lake back in the Spring. Weather was moving in from the West-Southwest, high cirrus cloud and blue sky retreating in the Northwest, graduating to a dense yellow-gray status cloudbank hiding the setting sun. Classic sign of weather front…easy to predict rain…lake rise coming.
I couldn’t detect any sign of changes in the lake level as I travelled West, staying well back from the channel, skiing over nutgrass (chufa…cyperus something-something) and sedge (genus carex) tufts. I noted very old cattail (typha latifolia) bones, years old, telling me that it’s been a long time since there was nourishment available.
By the time I got to the “junction”, that’s where the stream from the culvert on the Senott Rd. joins the main channel, I started seeing evidence of fresh flooding beneath the snow….clearly showing in the coyote tracks that were now filling with fresh vegetation-stained water. So were my ski tracks. I disrupted two Eagles (haliaeetus leuco-something), remembering that this area is a favorite nesting area…views in all directions.
The remaining stretch to the dam was a bit challenging….lots of slush under the snow and even skiing over the sedge grass and bushes didn’t keep the slush from eventually encrusting my skis. Clearly a great refilling of the lake, immersion of the parched marshland, and expanding channel boundaries. In this area the water has obviously stilled, as there was a thin skim of ice forming on the surface of the expanding channel, now becoming the wetland I knew, fifty years ago.
I considered the possibility of digging out the kayak and coming out on Sunday to celebrate the rise after the rain, knowing that the channel was now passable with the lake level up.
By the time I got to the narrow gauge abutment and the splendid pine that announces the end of the railbed, my skis were totally slushed, top and bottom, and beginning to ice up hard. I doffed them and with the aid of a scraggly oak tree (quercus borealis) and George’s tape measure I still had in my parka, pretty well scraped them down to the wax base.
Rather than risk re-slushing and really icing them up on a rigorous colder return trip…even planning to avoid all the slush, I skiied the railbed to the Post Office and headed home, shank’s mare.
The howling traffic, paralyzing headlights, smells of diesel fumes and tobacco wafting in the turbulence contrasted with the silent, pure, vibrant watershed witnessed just hollering distance to the North. Every couple of minutes in the near-darkness, I watched the rising moon in thin cloud, accompanied by first-magnitude Aldeberan.
It was such an honor to screw down the gate for the first time in the new era of our lake.
Kayak trip from the dam to the Clary Lake ice went nicely. Occasional ice floes were a bit hazardous, sometimes appearing as patches of floating debris, and necessitating a quick evasive move. The previous ice mostly remained bonded to the submerged marsh, about 18″-20″ down, but in some cases one edge rose to the surface to appear cantilevered out of the water.
I traced the deeper channel where my paddle didn’t hit ice, and skimmed over the blackness. I had forgotten how sinuous the channel is.
At one point I was searching for the channel and got myself into water that was barely deep enough, scraping the ice underneath almost getting stranded. This is the false cove that looks like the downstream channel course.
I saw the two Bald Eagles, and witnessed fish hitting the surface…what could they be after? Approached a solitary Barrow’s goldeneye duck who sped off and then circled me, and as I cornered a dozen Canada geese, they escaped towards me, missing me overhead by a few feet. I was concerned they might “dump ballast” on their takeoff, but I was only splattered by lake water.
Looking forward to making the sunny trip again Sunday around noon. This marshland trip could be as popular as the other Whitefield trails, and is certainly as pleasant a way to spend an afternoon. We could give it a name that promotes its beauty as a Whitefield Wildlife Wetland Winding Watercourse. I’ll check early Sunday to see if there’s a skim of ice that could make it difficult. If interested in making this trip Sunday, call me at 248-2201 for a condition report.
I will see if I can make it tomorrow!
George,
You look like a proud papa standing on top of our dam and rightly so! Thanks for all you’ve done these past years!
🙂
One would think that Fred Duncan and Richard Smith would have much better things to do with their lives than waste time and money !! This is a mute point already. Give me a break.
I know, right?
Update: As of this afternoon, the lake has risen 11 inches and is approaching 5 inches below the High Water Mark. I decided to open the gate to let out more water, but I suspect the lake will still over top the dam. Not a problem!
Can I request a picture to be posted when it over tops?
If I could be so bold as to ask you to take one from my property so I could see the mill pond side that would be really neat.
Again, thanks for maintaining this page. I really do look at it nearly everyday and geek out looking at the dam log.
You bet Steve! I’ll be taking ALL KINDS of pictures from all angles!
We received 1.66″ of rain last Thursday which has raised the lake level to within 6″ of over topping, but it looks like opening the gate yesterday slowed the lake level rise enough to keep it where it is for now. More snow and rain forecast for the middle of next week so we’ll have another chance. This time of year the plan is to try and keep the lake level between 12 and 24 inches below the top of the dam, not that over-topping is a bad thing, we just want to minimize ice damage to the shoreline around the lake.
And glad you like the dam log! I’ve been having a blast with it. It’s still a work in progress. Will be posting an article about it one of these days.
George, this is absolutely WONDERFUL to be able to see and visualize what’s going on with both the lake level, and the management scheme. Everyone owes you a great debt of thanks for getting this put together in such a visually informative way.
Hey glad you like it! I find it fascinating.
So George, does this mean you’re our Dam Master? Can’t think of anyone more suited to the task.
Thanks for all you do for us lakeshore owners and others.
I am for the time being Steve, by default 🙂
We’re currently working on the Water Level Management Plan, a draft of which is currently being reviewed by DEP. We will soon be creating a standing “Dam Operations Committee” likely with 3-4 people on it that will be in charge of operating the dam, record keeping, and reporting to the Board. We’re still working up a committee description and list of responsibilities. One of our first “tasks” will be to work on an operations manual.
I will finally be moving to the area full time this summer. I might be interested in helping out with the Dam Operations Committee when I get there. Let me know if you will still need help.
You only have to ask once Steve: consider yourself a Dam Operations Committee member 🙂
The Committee hasn’t actually been formed yet. Stay tuned!
By law you’re supposed to have your name and address on your ice shack…
Well someone came this afternoon and hauled the shack back up the lake.
Cold comfort, I guess. Definitely good that the judge opined on the subject of the many years’ delay v. actual cost to allow the dam to comply.
Thanks for all your efforts. The gauge looks great and is visible from a car as I found out yesterday.
Yep, I checked it myself this morning!
I’ve enjoyed following the water level charts since we moved here, and appreciate all your work maintaining them, but agree it is not worth it to continue when we have these cool new automated charts which, while different, give us lots of interesting data to ponder. It is no longer depressing to go to the water’s edge and see where it is, it is a whole new adventure. Time to get ourselves a dock!
I don’t think I’m ready to retire the old charts just yet… sort of like a bad habit you just don’t want to give up, but their days are definitely numbered.
As for docks, well you and me both Wynne! Over the past 8 years I’ve gotten used to pulling my boat up “on the beach” and well, the beach is gone. So I too need a dock 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
Wonderful George, just f—ing wonderful! Can’t wait to get the Shoremaster back in the water, fishing boat to follow!
For the past 8 years we’ve gotten used to the lake rising and falling 5 feet. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting excited about a 2 foot fluctuation, but we can try!
Please sign me back up. Thanks!
I can do that!
I was wondering why I could see things on Facebook but nothing got to me via email. Mystery solved!
Please re-subscribe me. Thank you.
Bill
I see you managed!
Any idea what room number where it’s taking place?
No idea Steve.
Maybe the Loons know we’re not going to have a “winter” this year.
Ya–Riiight!!
Well, Summer was late coming this year…
Awesome and amazing work! Thanks to all.
Copies of any and all filings available upon request. You know how to reach me.
Merry Christmas, George and Margaret and all of Clary Lake Association!
Thank you Annette! Best to you and Stephen!
Nicely reported, George, and thanks. Great that so many members attended!
How about The Dam Song as our theme? 🙂 Looking forward to meeting everyone. Bev
Hum a few bars and I’ll see if I know it! 🙂
I’m not particularly happy to learn the crappie are thriving in Clary either! They are a detriment to our largemouth bass as they compete for the forage vital to help sustain our fishery.
It’s not the crappies fault but please do catch and NOT release these most recent illegally stocked critters.
I modified the Google Form to allow you to see other people’s names and answers (dates) but not who picked what date.
16 People so far!
Don’t forget the ClaryCams
Excellent article!!
I’d become a volunteer if I wasn’t one already.😊
Still a band of ice along the south shore, and a good amount down by the boat launch. The rest of the lake is ice-free. Won’t be long now.
I reckon Julie and I will be helping with this. Let me know when the training is.
Thanks Steve!
The response to this post has been amazing. Clearly Arlene’s message has resonated.
I am glad you are on the mend. Prayers for complete recovery soon.
George is a true Hero to Clary Lake. Many thanks George for your past and ongoing dedication to the protection of Clary Lake !!!
You deserve nothing less George!
Our Loons on Lake Ann MI are using a floating devise which has worked for years. A huge storm broke it loose and it drifted across the lake. There are two eggs, but the Loons refuse to get back on their nest. Could they know that the eggs are not viable
Some years ago some lake shore owners built a floating nest for the loons. I’ve no idea if it was ever actually used.
June 26th and we’re now D1 Moderate Drought.
Hi George. I cannot thank you enough for your unwavering efforts in this litigation. My mother is Diane Grant and my stepfather is Ed Grant. Just spent 2 weeks at our home on Clary Lake and the change is breathtaking. Thank you so very much.
Why thank you Bill, I appreciate the recognition, but we wouldn’t be here without the unwavering support of the Board and the Membership and the “Friends of Clary Lake”. And thanks for explaining who you’re related to! Ed Grant was a good steward of Clary Lake.
Margaret you and George have a wonderful Thanksgiving! So grateful for the work you two have done and the positive you put out into our community! 💜
Thank you Stephanie! Same to you guys!
Many thanks to the Dam Operations Committee for their careful attention!
Boy do I like having Margaret write for the website!!!
Very well said, Margaret, and thank you.
Thank you Margaret and thank you to all the Clary Lake Association leadership for all you have done this year.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a Fantastic New Year. 2021 here we come 😁. Looking forward to celebrating in person in ‘21.
Looking forward to more open and active times with you on Clary Lake. Wishing you all the best during the holiday season and beyond! 2021 can’t come soon enough!!!
Thank you for the wonderful message, Margaret. We also really appreciate all the work the Association leadership has done and are very happy our lake is coming back too health. Hoping 2021 is a great year for all.
Awesome collection of information, George. I doubt if very many lake associations have data this sophisticated to aid in water level management.
There’s a fair amount of water quality information available for most Maine lakes, but not a whole lot of hydrologic data- flows, areas, volumes, flushing and retention rates, etc. From a purely practical point of view, how important is it really? It’s certainly interesting and that’s enough justification for me 🙂
George, Thank you for doing this. As you say, it is very interesting to look at. Well done, thanks again. Jack
Interesting is all well and good, but my goal real is education!
George, Thanks for reminding everyone about the importance of releasing the Largemouth spawning stock. Now with the water level restored the likelihood of successful spawning rises and these large fish are paramount.
Great shot. Wish I could’ve been there to see it in person!
They’re always there: Clary Lake Webcams
Reflecting off the window in my office. I’ll be glad when I get these cameras out of my office and looking at the lake.
https://clarylake.org/wp-content/gallery/webcam-pictures/campic-at-my-desk-1-20-2021.jpg
Never a dull moment and thank you for that George!
You’re going to love the new Clary_cam1 🙂
Thanks for sharing George. Looks fast & chilly ! Sail on !!!
I went out again today, just as good/fast/cold as yesterday. I took my camera but decided NOT to take another video. When you hit one of the deeper drifts, the snow has a tendency to go up your pant legs. Need to remember to tuck my pants into my socks 🙂
Tomorrow is looking ideal. Warmer, and somewhat less wind (10 mph).
Very cool George!
I was able to find this episode on Spectrum’s On Demand service. Pretty cool! At one point, they showed my boat with me and my buddy Ron just offshore fishing. I remember being there that day and waving at the workers on shore.
I thought that might be you. It was fun to watch the show. The camp looks awesome.
Agreed! It was a pretty sad camp when they started. I actually don’t ever remember anyone staying there.
Wow!
Quite a shot.
Wish I could take credit for it, but I just put the cameras up. You can visit the webcams anytime at the Clary Lake Webcams page!
Got the test
Great 🙂 We’ve gone with SSL security for the website but it turned out to be a non-trivial exercise. Site was down for 4.5 hours 🙁 Up and running now.
All good here, thanks
Studded tires ?? I thought I’d see more spinning in circles. Is the noise from crunching snow & ice or is there a ” loose nut behind the wheel” ? :):)
Loose nut behind the wheel?? I resemble that comment! No studs, but All Wheel Drive Subarus are just good on ice and snow 🙂
And yeah, it was kinda noisy. If it was smoother ice I’d still be out there!
I have been waiting to do that all winter! I may venture to camp tomorrow in my Scoobydoo.
Come on up! Easy to get on at the State boat launch, though it’s very icy, you have to creep down the drive to the ramp.
That sure does look like fun!
Too cold for a flatlander.
But you’re in a car, with the heat on!
Fun watch. Not much activity back then.
I bet a same video of current years since the new water level would be a lot busier.
I’m actually working on a 2020 Year In Pictures video 🙂
We had 20 guesses last year. We’re up to 24 so far this spring. I’m considering shutting down the contest in a few days.
Great footage!
I love making these videos. I’ve made one of the year 2020 using one picture every hour. I’ll post it one of these days.
Thank you for your insightful posts. While I rarely respond, each and every post you provide is enjoyed to the max. Stay safe.
Bill
Well thank you Bill. I see part of my role as a Steward of Clary Lake is to educate people (as I educate myself) about the lake and what makes it tick. Sometimes it is as simple as posting a picture of a loon, or a sunset. Sometimes it can get pretty technical.
Well done George. Hope the pepper does the trick.
It’s been suggested that squirrels *like* cayenne pepper so I may need to find another solution. Perhaps the petroleum jelly will be unpalatable enough to keep the squirrels, or mice, from chewing on the antenna!
Turns out you can buy replacement antenna pretty cheaply.
It is the same for me. This morning I watched two Loones fighting for the female’s favor!
George, Great observation and info to our members. I have retrieved floating sections of docks more than once.
Yeah I’ve retrieved a few myself!
An hour after I posted this the pollen was gone.
The video and the pictures really don’t do the waves justice!
Next time try taking your video from a lower angle…laying on your dock would probably be perfect!
Had I done that I’d have gotten soaked as the waves were squirting up between the decking 🙂
Exactly!
Now wait a minute!
Well done sorry I missed it.
Sounds like a fun day.
Any pictures to share?
I’ve been in touch with the State Entomologist Tom Schmeelk. He thinks that trapping Browntail Moths is an ineffective method of control because he says that it is mostly male BTM that are attracted to light and the females mostly hang out on the host foliage near the light and wait for the males to arrive. He also points out that beneficial insects would be collateral damage. He doesn’t offer any alternative solutions to the problem however.
I did watch the Clary Lake 4th of July Boat Parade on Sun at 2:00. I was not on my deck with flags, whooping and hollering this year but I appreciated it nonetheless. Thank you to the great patriots who braved the weather to display their love of country!!
We opened the gate 1 foot today to hasten the return to more normal water levels. We’re anticipating additional rainfall in the next week. When the lake has fallen to the top of the dam we’ll close it again.
The lake level has fallen to the top of the dam and we’ve closed the gate. I doubt the drought conditions are over and we might as well preserve as much water as possible going into August.
Would like to be on the proxy mailing list, please.
You will get a proxy ballot Kate!
Love your use of Y’all!!!
Aw shucks!
Yes
That’s a yes!
I notice a few other “issues” in formatting pages for mobile devices. A few pages will have to be redesigned I think. Patience everyone!
Did I miss the Webcam links?
They’re there Kate, I redesigned the webcam page to fit on a smartphone screen. I may also get rid of the sidebar since it seems to interfere. There are more changes coming to the menus too. Here’s the link to the webcams:
Clary Lake Webcams
Nothing ventured, nothing gained 🙂
Too true Jack. In this case my “venture” may mean my having to rebuild the menus from scratch. I suppose there are worse things.
Yippee! You are awesome and appreciated, George!
Thanks for not telling them I almost put the last elbow on backwards. :-0 :-))
No, that tidbit of trivia deserves to remain unsaid…
George, GREAT job on the website, easy to navigate on my phone. Thanks to all involved in the installation of the hydrant, especially David Boynton to donate his time and equipment. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of visitors to CLA website:)
Glad you’re finding the changes useful!
George, great explanation and information. Thanks
Fascinating George! I’ve seen this phenomena before but didn’t know it had been studied and named.
Langmuir was a curious chap!
Yes, it was eye-opening for me when I learned about it. One would think the foam should form in lines parallel to the waves, not perpendicular to them.
Interesting, thank you for sharing the video on Langmuir Circulation. I love data.
George, Thanks for the video. I kept expecting to see a leaping Salmon swimming up & over :):) Maybe even a bear trying to catch in mid air 🙂 any chance of photo shopping one in to add to the action???
I don’t even want to hint that there might be salmon in that stream!
All 3 streaming webcams look great. Wish I was still up there fishing! Weather looks ideal.
Glad you approve Ronnie! My boat is put away, but my friend is out in a kayak fishing right now. Beautiful afternoon.
Took Spy-Cam #2 to full screen.
Wow! Very calming/serene.
Will definitely spend more time snooping.
I’m loving them!
i was watching Cam2 and noticed a small black dot in the distance.
After watching it for a while I realized–I needed to clean my screen!! :-0
I hate when that happens!
George, you think the fox was chasing something. Mouse or small bird? 🤔
Not that I could see Jack. It just seemed to be running around having fun 🙂
Here is my submission:
George Fergusson
Clary Lake Association
I have a home on Clary Lake in Whitefield Maine and I am a member of the Clary
Lake Association. We are deeply concerned with protecting all Maine lakes and Clary
Lake in particular from the unwanted introduction of invasive plant and animal
species. For the past 3 years I have managed our Courtesy Boat Inspection program
and we are developing plans for an Invasive Plant Program for Clary Lake. I strongly
support LD 1826 because it will help protect those lake values by bringing together
diverse stakeholders and agency staff who are already working hard to move invasive
species risk-reduction programs forward.
Thank you.
George, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Below are my comments that have been sent to the committee:
I am writing in support of LD 1826. I am a resident of Jefferson, a member of the Clary Lake Association and a homeowner on Clary Lake. The need to address and combat the spreading of invasive plants and invasive marine species is paramount in Maine. I have witnessed the problems with invasive species all around the country and the unfortunate results when not addressed in a timely manner. Please support LD1826 . Thank you, Jack Holland
Did anyone get a chance to listen to the hearing? I was unable to tune in to it. I wonder how it went.
Testing my new recaptcha setup.
And I thought it was cold down here in Louisiana! Makes me shiver to watch the video!
It’s only 7° and blowing like hell!
Thank you for the post George. I do hope to see Clary Lake and Maine in the Winter but……. Maybe a little less frigid winds.
They recorded 50 mph winds down on the coast. Had to be close to that here!
Very thoughtful and beautiful, Margaret: thank you.
Boy, two days of high winds have really hammered the ice cover on Clary Lake. I’ve never seen it disappear so fast. 5 days ago there were people fishing. Today, I’m guessing 80% or more of the ice is gone.
Gee, I dunno. If it comes back, try calling “Nessie, Nessie” and see if it responds.
Looks like the Loc Ness monster!
Nessey?
Very nessey…
Thank you, George. You keep us pondering the workings…appreciating the mystery…measuring in some certainty what we can!
How about we have some water hauled in??😇😄
Start any time Dave…
George, thanks for staying on top of this. I know how popular the cams are. Much appreciated.
They are popular. I don’t honestly know how many people view them “live” because those register as “clicks” and not page views. Page views generate statistics, clicks don’t. There were 3,835 views of the Webcams page in 2021 or roughly 10 times a day, every day. The Live Cam site generates traffic graphs suggesting the cams are viewed live several times per day, sometimes more, sometimes less.
You have alot more patience than I do with the computer equipment! Glad you’re in charge and not me!!!
Great photo
Coincident?
About that same time we had a rainbow in the trees to the ground between the shore and our house on Hodsdon Lane.
Dave and Gayle Knight
Love this!!!
Wish I could send you some rain from Louisiana. We get rain every day, so much that it’s hard to find a day when you can mow your yard!
Wish you could too Ronnie! Our lawns don’t need mowing, they’re not growing!
George, any hats left? If so, I want some.
Very well deserved painting. So much credit goes to you!💯
Plenty of hats left Kate!
And thank you. I’d do it all again if I had to, but I’m glad I don’t.
Thanks George, saw the Same on our shoreline yesterday.
Alex had her dogs in the lake last night and didn’t see it… she’s well aware of how bad it is.
I’ve notified DEP, they may decide to take some samples to test for cyanotoxins.
Oh this is sad news. I’m sure all of us will do whatever we have to do to prevent these algae blooms from becoming a common occurrence. Thanks for keeping us informed!
It’s very unpleasant. The only good news so far is that according to Linda Bacon at DEP, there are no microcystin poisons associated with the bloom. Small consolation, but it’s something. At least we don’t have to worry about our pets being poisoned. I suppose that could change in the future.
Saw it from Hodsdon Lane. Nice and clear.
What a gorgeous photo!
Thanks George for all the hard work you do for the Clary Lake Association. Sorry I missed you this September. Ronnie
You’re welcome Ronnie. I’m hoping that with this server change, I’ll spend less time on droll administration tasks and more time on fun lake-related stuff!
Sorry to have missed it.
Had I known, I would have been up on graveyard hill watching.
Well so much for ice in!
BRRRR! EERIE!
Where’s Sasquatch?
It is eerie!
Our lake is so beautiful
I thought I’d share our CO weather with you! Enjoy 🙂
Thanks Donna! I’m loving it! Got a nice fire in the stove, wood in the woodshed, food in the fridge. I’m good! 🙂
I recorded -18° on Saturday morning and sustained 15 mph winds. Some chilly!
I wonder if it will flush out some of that bad algae growing stuuff.
Ah, you mean Phosphorus? Hard to say. I’d like to think a high flushing rate this time of year is a good thing, but actually, lakes with generally high flushing rates tend to have higher concentrations of Phosphorus and lower water quality because high flushing rates correspond to high runoff rates and that’s where a lot of the Phosphorus comes from. In the past, drought conditions (low flushing rates) in summer have tended to favor good water quality in Clary Lake. Except for last year, where we were in drought all summer and evaporation took a foot of water out of the lake, concentrating nutrients and leading to the worst algae bloom anyone can remember.
There are a lot of factors at play, and how they interact makes a big difference. Fascinating.
I have tried to enter April 1, 2023 twice with no luck. Please enter me into the contest.
Will Do!
Some geese and ducks swimming around in the marsh.
For what it’s worth, we don’t include the marsh area in the ice out contest…
I check them numerous times a week!!
Glad to hear it! If they’re ever not working, shoot me a text!
I usually just check the snapshot to make sure cameras are still working. The live feed is a better way to go!
George, and I thought the wind only blew like that when I’m fishing 🎣 🙂
It also does that 5 minutes after I launch my boat and want to take friends for a ride at sunset!! 😉
Very impressive video!
Well there’s a reason why that camera was in the junk box… It crapped out about a quarter past 11 last night. Oh well. I’ve got a couple more to try.
George, you’re the best! Thanks for being entertaining and keeping us all in the loop!
Installed a new Cam3 yesterday.
Nice picture Steve. I saw 7 Loons on the lake last week in 3 groups and a boater reported seeing 8 or nine all together yesterday while I was on CBI shift.
I love all of your posts and pictures!
Great picture Steve, thanks for sharing.
Excellent report/update on the meeting.
I’m sure Gayle and Melissa will be honored by the attention.
The lunch following was a lot of fun as well with Margaret, Melissa, Gayle, Linda Gallion. and Jeanette Hodsdon who created their own shopping game. King Arthur Flour?? Really? :-))
I tried to contact Cheryl Willis asking whether the dock is still available. Our camp is off of the Duncan Road and can come this afternoon or tomorrow, if it’s still there.
Thanks
I believe it is still there Beth.
Great article George.
Very interesting and informative.
Thanks Dave, I try. I was worried this post was getting too long, so I kinda wrapped it up quickly.
Great summary, George.
Great article George. Makes me want to sign up.
Oh–wait–I’m already on the volunteer list!! :-))
Right you are Dave!
Can always count on Dave for some comic relief 🙂 well written George, hope it help to recruit additional volunteers. Thanks
Thanks Jack, I put some time into writing it. I’m going to hit up the people on our CBI list. I’ll bet most of them will want to help with the Survey.
George, great informative article. Yes, informed lake shore owners and those within the watershed are our current and future Steward’s, the more we know & understand the better. Thanks
Well said. Glad you reposted it!
Great article.
Had fun playing with the chart.
Looks like it might be easier to win the “Ice Out” contest. :-))
Yes, I forgot to mention that if you hover your mouse over a data point (or touch it on your phone or tablet) you can see the data itself. That actual chart will update when I enter a ice-in date later this month because it’s a “live” published graphic from a Google spreadsheet.
For what it’s worth, we’ve never held an ice-in contest…
Thank goodness the wind didn’t materialize!
“Good news doesn’t sell papers” is what my Dad used to say.
Nice Christmas photo though!
Fortunately I’m not selling newspapers!
We ended up with 3.13 inches of rain. Glad it wasn’t snow 🙂
This morning the lake is just an inch below the HWM which means there’s water flowing over the top of the dam. I wish we had a Dam Camera 🙂
Needless to say the ice is off the lake…
Thank you for the invitation. We hope to be there with a munchie in tow.
Chris and Karen Stultz
Great idea! We will plan to be there unless there’s a blizzard!
Thanks for the invite my son and I would love to attend.
Cheryl and Jared Willis
George, shadow of the trees looks like a large crack in ice. A friend said 4″ on Damariscotta lake today with fishermen out there. Joe is over near fryberg ice camping & fishing. He said they have 8″ there & good fishing. Thanks for the pictures
People fishing close to our shore today off Hodsdon Lane.
Seeing the shadow of your webcam on the snow couldn’t help but remind me of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 TV show with it’s wisecracking robots.
Boy that is obscure Steve!
Hence the nickname, Obscure Steve!
Karren and I are looking forward to it!
Greg and Karren Briggs
THAT was very cool.
Here is a movie I made of a whole YEAR on Clary Lake:
Clary Lake: A Year In Pictures
I sure hope I lose because I guessed early… : (
I hear you Tristan, so did I 🙁
There’s only one valid guess for April. Everyone else’s guesses are in March. That’s saying something.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. IT IS APPRECIATED.
So far as we know, none of these species has been found in Clary Lake. However, we keep a watchful eye for hitch-hikers on boats coming into the lake, with our courtesy inspections at the Jefferson boat launch every summer weekend. More volunteers would be welcome to take part!
Correct Malcolm. Thanks for piping up.
Saw those stations while camping last few years. Some are miles away from the lakes shorelines, taking no chances of any invasive getting close. My niece lived on a lake in Vt. She volunteered at a wash station that had hot water pressure washing in a lot across from boat ramp.
Love it! Great to see, and thank you and all the folks at the association for doing good work. The algae bloom researchers were all over it today. Great work!
Yes, we could use several more inspectors.
We will hook you up with the basic on-line tutorial that you can do at home. Then, we’ll be happy to schedule you to spend at least one 2 hour shift with an experienced inspector or until you are comfortable with the process. One or more of us are always available if you have questions or need help.
Required gear is a lawn chair, sunglasses and coffee or soda!! :-)) And of course, your I-phone.
Heck–we’ll even get you one of our really cool “COURTESY INSPECTOR” t-shirts.
Dave
YUP–Pretty and spooky at the same time.
I agree wholeheartedly. Nature is so awesome!!!
Beautiful in all moods ❤️
Agree!
Awesome pictures and prose. I have so many wonderful memories of my time on Clary Lake.
Thanks Randy. Stop by when you’re in the area!
GREAT photo’s.
We were one of the boats watching. (6 adults, 1 child and 1 dog)
Mosquito’s weren’t too bad. :-))
When the fireworks started, I counted 16 boats on the water 🙂
Unfortunately I will be out of the state at the time of this event. Disappointing, as I had planned on it with enthusiasm.
Enjoy everyone. I hope we can plan another event like this.
Sorry you won’t be able to join us!
Family reunion that weekend. Won’t be able to join but would have loved to since I have 686 ft on the marsh and have never been out to actually see it other than in the winter time when everything is frozen over 🙁
There’ll be other opportunities Dee!
WOW!!
You’ve certainly made that point “clear”!! :-))
It does stand out doesn’t it. Actually, ALL the secchi disk readings this year “stand out” 🙂
Great news for Clary Lake. Must translate to great fishing also!
I haven’t heard anyone complaining!
I think there’s a small patch of purple loostrife, next to a stream that feeds into Clary Lake on Senott Rd at the new culvert.
Great Job Alan!!
Great article.
It’s always fun to read a story that has a happy ending.
Let’s hope it does have a happy ending Dave.
What a great video! Where did you find it? Very interesting subject matter. We have something similar down south where we catch loads of shad for crawfish bait every spring. Boatloads of shad at a place called Alligator Bayou.
Glad you liked it Ronnie! I was talking with someone about Alewives the other day and of the prospects of getting them into Clary Lake and what that might mean for our lake. They recommended the video to me. We tend to think of Clary Lake as an isolated environment when in fact it’s really part of a bigger picture. We’re part of the Sheepscot River watershed but I know I for one don’t often think of it that way.
It’s looking like the sky tonight will be clear.
Beautious!!
The wind has also stolen my American Flag and I can’t find it anywhere. :-((
Now it appears the camera has stopped transmitting…
The cold temperature and the wind was such that George couldn’t
hold the camera mount steady when I tightened the screws.
Something like that. We can do better on a warmer day!
So much truth in this. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Clary Lake family.
Absolutely Kate! It’s a repost from 2020 but it’s just as relevant today as it was then.
Very informative post, George.
Thanks Malcolm! This website is if anything intended to be educational. I’m just glad someone read it!
He will be sorely missed.
He will indeed.
He has shared and I’ve enjoyed some great fishing stories over the years. I believe Tom & Ed Grant were instrumental in Largemouth Bass being introduced to Clary Lake. They were great fishing buddies and loved Clary Lake. When they wanted a good fish fry, they went to Somerville Long Pond to harvest fish.
All true. I’ve been to a few of those fish fries.
His heart was always at Clary Lake with his friends.
Indeed it was. He was a life long steward of Clary Lake, a good friend, and a generous patron of the Clary Lake Association.
Bethie and I have done a lot of tree work for Tom and Delph over the years. I’m glad to have had the privilege of knowing him. He left me with a pearl not long ago, “Good people know good people.” I’m sad to hear that he’s gone. Cheers Tom.
What a fun guy to talk with.
Dear George, how kind you were to write such a lovely article about Tom. Thank everyone for sharing their memories of him. Best wishes, Delph
Delph, please accept my heartfelt condolences for your loss. You’re in all our thoughts. I’m working on some additional comments I’ll post along with his obituary in due time.
Tommy Gillette was my uncle. He used to take me fishing with him back in the 50’s and 60’s on False River in Baton Rouge,LA. We would rent a bateau (small Jon boat) and get his 3.5 horsepower outboard from his trunk of his car. Boat rental was $1per day back then! He is the one who instilled my love for fishing, and he will forever be in my heart for taking the time to teach me the ropes of fishing. Of course, I (my mother) had to pay for 1/2 of the gasoline for the trips! That was Tommy’s way, as all who knew him could attest!!! I will miss you very much Uncle Tommy. Love, Ronnie
Thanks for sharing that memory Ronnie.
Leslie, I know you really cared about this person. How special he must have been to and for you! Sorry, he will be missing from your life. Cousin Dorothy
We are planning to attend.
Karren and I plan on attending and look forward to seeing everyone.
George–you’re such a selfless hero!!
If Carolyn can’t buy you one,, We will!! :-))
Dave and Gayle Knight