Time Line Video!

 

We just received another video from Jamie Dimick at Kingdom Access Television (KATV) in St. Johnsbury. It is called "JPA Timeline of Eurasian Watermilfoil: Organization of Resources 2024-2025." This is a short history chronicling the discovery of EWM in our lake and the extensive efforts to control its spread. Featuring JPA President Joe Hebert, and Barry Cahoon, the Director of our EWM Team, I found this to be both informative and entertaining. 

 

This will be an important document in years to come as we negotiate through the difficult process of trying to locate and control the spread of this very aggressive rapid-growth aquatic plant that threatens to overtake our beautiful lake. 

 

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 Here is a brief message from Jenny Gelfan and the late Frank Dolan's family: 

 

 Frank Dolan slipped away at the Jack Byrne Center at Dartmouth Health on August 6, 2025 from glioblastoma, a brain cancer. If you knew Frank, you know how much he was loved. And that he loved Joe's Pond and you his neighbors here.

 

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We have had a few very brief and very light showers in the past 24 hours, but it has not been enough to help our very dry conditions. Water is in short supply in almost all of the brooks and rivers, and pond levels are way down in most cases. Joe's Pond is lower than normal, but the dam in West Danville keeps the level as steady as possible, allowing only a few inches fluctuation. With more very hot, dry weather ahead next week, it is likely that it will be impossible to prevent the water level from going below where the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has deemed it must be kept. Sometimes all the surveys, rules, regulations, and new-fangled gadgets that are put into service to control nature are simply no match for the elements. While it only sprinkled here, I just had a note from a friend who said it poured in Cabot Village.

 

Diane Rossi and I had a very nice meal tonight, thanks to the folks at the Cabot United Church. The chicken was nicely done and there were very generous sides of macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, a roll - topped off with our choice of desserts, which all looked great, but we both chose cream puffs which were specially made by Christa Sholtz - traditional cream puffs with fresh strawberries added into the cream! So good! I should have bought an extra meal to have later!! Or at least extra desserts! Why didn't I think of that!?

 

Tonight will probably be the last night I have my house guest, Thor. His family arrived home today and will likely come to pick him up tomorrow. I have to admit I will really miss his company. I won't miss guarding doors to be sure he doesn't sneak past me to explore the great outdoors, which he has never experienced; or his insistence that he must be fed at least three times a day, preferably getting his snack before I get my own meal. And I won't miss playing the "time for bed" game when he senses it's time for him to be "retired" to his own room and he suddenly gets very frisky. He enjoys the game, I think - I can see the sparkle in his eyes as he hides just out of my reach or races past me and makes a grand leap onto a high cupboard or over the back of a chair where he knows I'm not going to be able to grab him. Sometimes I lure him with food, or sometimes I just go back to my chair, turn on TV and end the game. He will usually hop up into my lap and then I've got him! Still, it's a battle of wits I'm sure he enjoys far more than I do. I'll miss him, for sure, but he will no doubt visit again the next time they head away on vacation.  

 

SNUBA TRAINING!

    1:00 this Saturday, August 9th, at the Joes Pond Association Dock, Jim Bernotas will be conducting a SNUBA and milfoil training for anyone interested in getting involved and contributing your skills, time and resources to the JPA battle against Eurasian Water Milfoild. We need you ! Too few people have been taking on too great a task for too long a time. The EWM is gaining on us.  

     Bring what diving/snorkelling equipment you have or if you don't have any come anyway and learn what you do need.  

     Contact Jim with any questions at customshopjim@gmail.com

     If you are unfamiliar with the locations of the JPA dock it is just off the intersection of North Shore Road and Clubhouse Circle. Park at the JPA Pavilion lot.

    Thanks for your consideration and hope to see you there.

Barry Cahoon, JPA EWM Management Coordinator

A Mix of News & Reminders

Pres. Deb Stresing, Treas. Wendy 
Hutchins, and Sec. Chris Burns,
WDCC Board Members

 The West Danville Community Club (WDCC) has been honored as the 2025 Citizen of the Year and was proudly featured in the Danville Fair parade on Saturday, August 2nd.

 

The club’s mission is to maintain and enhance Joe’s Pond Public Beach and the surrounding natural areas, while promoting community involvement. Thanks to WDCC, the West Danville beach remains clean and accessible - they fund essential services like portable toilets and trash removal so everyone can enjoy this special beach.

 

If you love your community and spending time at the beach, please consider getting involved!

Contact WDCC President Deb Stresing at: DebStresing@gmail.com

 

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Congratulations to the West Danville Community Club! They are certainly hard workers and over the years have taken on responsibilities above and beyond to keep the beach and the general community clean and beautiful. They are a small group, working in a small community that grows significantly according to the seasons - beach goers, bikers, and hikers in the summer, snowmobilers and snow sports enthusiasts in the winter, and I'm sure they appreciate how well-kept everything is in West Danville. The WECC does a great job!

Thursday, Aug. 7 - I came to my computer tonight to write a new blog and found I had not sent the above. I'm not sure what happened, but something distracted me. However, I will try to be brief this evening - Thor (granddaughter Tangeni's handsome black cat) and I need to have our supper. He's been teasing for a while but finally settled down on my desk much the same as "Woody" used to years ago! It's been fun having Thor with me, but sometimes he's a real challenge - more on that at another time.

I just learned that a long-time Joe's Ponder, Frank Dolan (Narrows Drive), passed away yesterday, August 8. His sister-in-law, Dee Palmer, was kind enough to let us know and said details will follow. Frank had many friends here - he was always kind and helpful - occasionally interacting over some issue either Fred or I had, usually with computers, as I recall. His input was appreciated. It is always sad when one of our community passes - and our condolences go to Dee and his family. 

Please don't forget that August 13th is the date that the herbicide will be applied to the milfoil found in patches, mostly near the islands and along Sandy Beach Road shoreline. Please stay off and out of the water that day. Although the herbicide is safe and non-toxic to humans, pets, or wildlife, the milfoil crew asks that as a precaution, we do not access the water for any reason. Look but please don't touch. This will give them a better chance of keeping the application where it will do the most good, without any unnecessary turbulence or distractions.

On the subject of what great cooperation there has been from individuals and organizations in neighboring communities, it is important to acknowledge the St. Johnsbury Fire Department.  They have provided refills for our divers' oxygen tanks throughout the summer. They are as concerned as we are about the infestation and have stepped up to provide this important service at no charge. Our sincere gratitude for their help and support.

One last bit of information: 

CABOT – Saturday, August 9, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the Cabot United Church will offer a chicken barbecue dinner. Take-out and dine-in are available with delivery available for the homebound. The meal includes the chicken, macaroni and cheese, salads and a desert. The supper is by donation with proceeds benefiting the church’s fuel fund. For home deliveries, call (802) 426-3783.

Milfoil Video and Community Support

We have a very informative video, thanks to Jamie Dimick and his staff at KATV (Kingdom Access Television). There has been great cooperation with communities in our area, in fact, the parade yesterday morning at the Danville Fair featured some representatives of the Danville Conservation Committee showing support for our efforts. Thanks to Joanne Stewart for these shots. Also, a special thank you to the Danville Conservation Committee and the folks who came up with such a creative idea for the parade. We do, indeed, have a "monster" in our midst! I will take the efforts of lots of people working together to eliminate that pest, so we appreciate your support! 

Third Sunfish Race Results

They're off, good wind!

 Sunfish Sailboat Race – Race #3 Recap

We had another great day on the water for the third Sunfish Sailboat Race of the season! With steady wind and sunny skies, four sailors competed in the Single Division. There were no entries in the Double Division this time.

Single Division Results:

Jack Lague easing over the finish line.



1. Jack LaGue

2. Lee Erdmann

3. Jay Chatot

4. Jules Chatot

Mark your calendars—the final race of the 2025 season is scheduled for Sunday, August 24. If you're interested in joining the fun, please contact Susan Bouchard. We’d love to see more sailors out on the water!

Following the final race, the Caledonian Cup Award Party will be hosted by Mark and Rosie Smith at their home on North Shore Road. Hope all sailors and their families can celebrate in the festivities. 

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To answer the anonymous comment on a recent post, all of the information about our milfoil situation is also on the Joe's Pond Website   (www.joespondvermont.com) If you haven't visited the official Joe's Pond Association website, please take a look. There is a wealth of information there about the milfoil and many other (much more pleasant) happenings. You will find links to in-depth information, postings about social events, the Ice-Out Contest, some history, and lots of pictures and videos. I think you will enjoy exploring the site.

To anyone wishing to be notified when I post to the blog, send me your email address, either in the comments or to me directly at janebrowncabot@gmail.com. I will be happy to add you to the address list. You will receive notification each time I post and I promise that your email address will not be shared without your permission. 

A note to regular readers: I recently updated my computer to Windows 11 and I'm not certain everyone who was on my most recent email list is still there. If you are suddenly not being notified with an email that there is a new post, please let me know and I will get you back on the list. I'm still having a little trouble finding everything on my computer and the list I found ! It takes me a little longer to grasp all this new-fangled digital stuff than it does younger folks who have grown up with it! But I bet it would take them more than a few minutes to figure out how to use a mimeograph or change the ribbon on an electric typewriter! Or how to make a call using a wall-hung crank telephone! Trouble is, all that useless information is stored in the memory banks of us old timers, and we have to work hard sometimes to find room to store new stuff! That's why we are apt to forget things - sometimes to make more room, things get tossed out of our filing system that shouldn't be!

ATTENTION, PLEASE!

 To the camp owners along Channel Drive, Sandy Beach, Meadow Lane, Island Drive and Clubhouse Circle:

As a natural part of its growth cycle and an element of its evolved reproduction and propagation strategy, Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) becomes extremely brittle and vulnerable to fragmentation as it approaches the end of the growing season in August.  The drift and spread of detached or broken off EWM fragments is its primary mode of proliferation.  The attached photo shows a small piece of EWM sending out rootlets starting to grow a new plant.

The JPA has observed today (08/02/25) that even turbulence from a kayak paddle will now break off fragments of EWM and contribute to its spread.

In addition, many dozens of plants, particularly in the area between the islands and Channel Drive, have now grown to the surface and are extremely vulnerable to fragmentation by watercraft of any kind.  In addition, the density of EWM is beginning to form surface mats.  See the attached photos.

The JPA has considered attempting to target and remove EWM plants that are near or have reached the surface, but its fragility and vulnerability to fragmentation has led us to decide that such an attempt would be counterproductive at best.

The JPA continues to urge all watercraft users of Joe's Pond to avoid boating through the signed EWM concentration areas along Sandy Beach and Channel Drive and all littoral zones (shallow water areas) around the entire lake as this is an extremely critical time due to EWM vulnerability to fragmentation.

Camp owners along the Channel Drive shoreline in particular are urged to restrict your watercraft usage through the signed area only to when absolutely necessary at least until completion of the scheduled herbicide treatment on 08/13-08/14/25.  The JPA recognizes fully how constraining this request is but weighs its issuance against the health of the lake and our campaign to contain this EWM infestation.

Your assistance and contribution to this goal is greatly appreciated.

Joe Hebert, JPA President

Barry Cahoon, JPA EWM Management Coordinator

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The bold text in the above message was added by me, Jane Brown - it was not original to the message. 

I just want to add that every time we get an update on our milfoil situation, my heart sinks because it only seems to be getting worse. The crew that is trying desperately to control the stuff continues to dive on a regular basis, exploring for and marking new outbreaks, and we so appreciate their efforts. It is important to support them however we can, and staying well away from those areas where milfoil has been found is critical. I know this is difficult, especially for the folks who have cottages in the area of the channel and along the north and west shores who want to be able to enjoy being at Joe's Pond, using boats, swimming, or fishing from your docks. We hope that this year's inconvenience will pay off, the spreading will stop, and the existing outbreak controlled by the August 13th treatment so that next summer there won't be an invasion of milfoil and we can get back to "normal". That hope makes it worthwhile to comply because if milfoil continues to spread, none of the water activities I mentioned above will be available in a very short time. We need to get this done now.

A Plea for Players!

PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT

August 9-10, 2025

Hello all.  We have a sparse turnout so far for both days.  Please let me know by this Sunday if you are interested.  

A lot of people have mentioned they are busy or away.  See the list below and LMK if I missed your “yes” response.  I’m hoping we can get a few more people.  

Thx - Tom

• 2025 Picklefest JP Tourney -

Picklefest - SAT

1. Jamie S

2. Tom S

3. Jane S

4. Diane S

5. Dave K

6. Kim K

7. Paul P

8. Dorothea P

- Sunday Tourney -

Doubles - Advanced

1. Mike S/Tom S

2. James/Paul

3. Alex/Tao

Doubles - Intermediate

1.   Norma/Jane

Tom Segale

617.909.0960