And More EWM News!

Jamie Stewart sent more news on the progress of the Eurasian watermilfoil control group, but I had already posted his report about the party last night . . . so here's the rest of the story!

Hi again,   Sorry for the disorganization.

The focus of Saturday's harvest team was for boat of the snorkelers and SCUBA with 2 kayakers to survey and harvest milfoil in the inlet channel area where milfoil has been found.  We search and harvest every week there to stay on top of the smaller plants still growing.  We do not want any fragments floating down the lake. Every week we find a few plants and 6 were found and harvested.  Included in the survey is the Pearl Island.

 The SNUBA team boat searched the Sandy Beach Road from the Philips camp down to Kurrle's camp to see if any fragments had taken root there.  We also went looking for the 3 benthic barriers placed in 2025 as we have to take them out of the water soon.  No milfoil was found after 3 passes were made.

 

 

Attached is a photo of Saturday's (8/29) harvest team.  Pictured are from left to right:

Jamie Stewart - Boat

Marie Meteer - snorkeler

Doug Paulsen - snorkeler

Scott Burns - snorkeler

Josie Cicia - SCUBA

Aleksey Strokanov - SCUBA

Nick Hallback - snorkeler

Not pictured are:

Jamie Dimick - Boat

Barry Cahoon - Boat

Jim Bernotas - SCUBA

Mark Gerrish - SNUBA

Butch Bouchard - SNUBA

David Porter - SNUBA

Joanne Stewart - Kayaker

Pam Hebert - Kayaker

Sue Bouchard - Kayaker

Pat Rubacalba - Kayaker

Lou Monaghan - Kayaker

Worthy of note is Scott Burns is a West Danville community member, Josie Cicia is a niece of Jim Bernotas, Nick Hallback is the fiance of Josie, Aleksey Strokanov is a ST. Jay Academy student.  So many interested people not in the JPA community.  I do believe Saturday's crew is the largest gathering of harvesters we have ever had.  

End Of Summer

 As September nears, we are feeling change in the air and noticing a few leaves withering or turning color, grass is growing more slowly, and there's an aroma of autumn in the air - a combination of over-ripe apples and dried earth - or maybe that's just at my house where I really look forward to some rain to fill my pond, and have apples decaying under the old tree near my porch. 

Yesterday I sat on the porch and watched leaves floating gently from the trees on my lawn. There was an occasional thud when another apple detached and hit the ground. This morning as I sat in my chair with my coffee I realized I'm beginning to see more of the road below my house through diminishing leaves on the maples and lilac bushes along the front walkway. We haven't had a lot of wind in the past several days, but growing season is definitely closing and trees are getting ready for winter.

Weather forecasters predicted "occasional showers" today, but nothing substantial. Apparently at 6:30 this morning there was a shower southwest of us and Nancy Buttura got this great shot of the rainbows it produced. If you look closely you will see there is a second rainbow just beyond the main one. Thank you, Nancy - this is a really nice shot.

This message came from JPA Secretary Jamie Stewart this morning - a report on the pot-luck dinner held last night to honor all the people who have been working diligently to combat milfoil. Such a nice thing to do! And I heard it was a huge success and everyone had a great time with lots of wonderful food and comradery. 

 Jamie's report:

    There was a potluck dinner last night [September 29, 2026] at the Pavilion where everyone involved with the Milfoil project was invited.  About 56 people showed up with food and it was a convivial group.  There were SCUBA divers there, SNUBA divers, snorkelers, kayakers, boat crew,  people who supplied food for the DASH crew, and boat launch greeters.  Joe Hebert said a few words and introduced the Eurasian Water Milfoil committee who have met monthly since January of 2025 to organize the effort to contain this invasive weed.  

     On Friday 8/28 there were 11 JPA and community members harvesting with 6 people in the water, 2 kayakers and 3 boat crew.  On Saturday  8/29, there were 18 JPA and community members with 10 people in the water, 5 kayakers, and 3 boat crew.  Barry Cahoon said at the potluck that when he was asked to lead the effort to contain this invasive weed he knew this effort needed JPA member's commitment and involvement.  Friday and Saturday's harvest crew and this potluck dinner was proof that the commitment and involvement was there and he thanked everyone for their efforts.

 

Joe's Ponders are definitely united in their resolve to beat this Eurasion watermilfoil invasion. How fortunate we are to have Barry, Joe, and the JPA Board solidly behind this effort. It truly "takes a village" and with dedication and persistence, we may be able to beat this after all. Nothing is impossible when good people work together.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Sunfish Race Results

Sunday we saw the final Sunfish Race for this season. Here is Susan Bouchard's report: 

It was a cool, dreary, rainy Sunday, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the sailors competing in the final Sunfish race of the 2026 season. With steady winds throughout the race, conditions made for an exciting finish to another season of sailing.

The Single Division came down to a battle between Jack LaGue and Jay Chatot. (Pictured left). The two sailors were close in the season standings, and in the final race, Jack crossed the finish line just a few seconds ahead of Jay. That narrow margin was enough to secure Jack the overall 2026 season champion. It was truly a photo finish to an exciting season!  

 

 

Final 2026 Season Standings

Single Division

• Jack LaGue — 30 points
• Jay Chatot — 28 points
• Jules Chatot — 23 points
• Rob Stewart — 23 points
• Lee Erdmann — 14 points
• Phil Crosby — 6 points
• Sharon Trull — 5 points

Double Division

• David Porter and his sons — 30 points
  Sidney sailed with David in the second and third races, and Henry joined him for the fourth race.
• Scott Spencer and Josh Ventrice — 10 points

Following the races, sailors gathered for the annual Award Ceremony hosted by Mark and Rosie Smith. The Smith family has hosted this celebration since 1970, when the Caledonian Cup races first began at Joe’s Pond. The sailing races were resurrected in 2016, continuing a tradition that has become an important part of the Joe’s Pond summer community. This year’s ceremony was especially significant because 2026 is the final year that winners’ names can be engraved on the Caledonian Cup trophy.

 

The gathering was also an opportunity to look ahead and discuss the future of sailing at Joe’s Pond. Several ideas were raised for making the races more accessible and encouraging more participation. A sailing workshop will be offered in the spring. The goal is to introduce more people to sailing, build confidence on the water, and hopefully encourage new sailors to join the races.

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 If you are on my list to be notified when I blog, because my computer failed, I wasn't able to send notification as I normally do. But I was able to publish the information provided by Barry Cahoon about milfoil treatment, so if you haven't already seen that, it is posted and you can read it just below this latest post. My computer literally died over the weekend. Jamie took it to Josh up in Lyndonville (Northeast Computer Systems) on Monday morning - and now I have it back with a new hard drive installed - everything is working perfectly again! I have to say, Josh does great work, and I was amazed that I got it back so quickly. He is good!! It was really handy that Jamie was able to get it there and pick it up for me, too. Sometimes things just work our perfectly.

 

Other times, not so much. I've had a bunch of things go haywire recently. It always seems that "troubles come not singly but in battalions," to paraphrase Shakespeare. It's the little things that I take for granted - and suddenly everything needs new batteries, or things need to be updated, cleaned, or serviced. It has something to do with summer winding down, I suppose. There are things that have to be done "before snow flies."   I'm impressed and dismayed at how quickly the summer has passed. I had to go to Hardwick last week and there were trees turning along Route 15 in Walden. No surprise - Walden's growing season is even shorter than here at Joe's Pond! They get all the weather before we do and more of it, I think. But we should have a nice - hopefully long - autumn with sunny days and cool nights. I hope we get some much-needed rain, too, before everything freezes up. 

 

That's it for now - enjoy what's left of summer!  

Milfoil Update

  Good Morning --

As part of its efforts to contain and possibly eradicate an infestation of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, the Joe's Pond Association (JPA) has contracted with SOLitude Lake Management, a licensed aquatic herbicide applicator, to conduct a treatment of a portion of Joe's Pond with the herbicide ProcellaCOR.

This treatment will occur on Wednesday, August 26^th beginning at 9:00 AM.  

ProcellaCOR is the only aquatic herbicide approved by the VT Agency of Natural Resources for use in the control of Eurasian watermilfoil because it is narrowly targeted, affecting a very small number of native aquatic plant species, its extremely low toxicity overall, and its rapid dissipation. 

Approximately 35 acres of the First and Second Ponds of Joe's Pond will be treated by the method of subsurface injection.  This represents just under 9% of the total 400 acre area of Joe's Pond and approximately 27% of the total area (130 acres) of the Joe's Pond littoral zone, or shallow water portion of the lake, within which Eurasian watermilfoil will grow.

Despite the relatively benign characteristics of ProcellaCOR noted above and the limited treatment area, the permit issued by VT ANR to the JPA authorizing this herbicide treatment includes a number of temporary water use restrictions including:

• No boating activity anywhere on Joe's Pond from 9:00 AM Wednesday, August 26th until 12:00 PM on Thursday, August 27th
• No swimming or other human water contact during the same time window
• The Town of Danville will close the Joe's Pond beach for water recreation during this time
• If water is drawn from the pond for domestic use, this should be discontinued during this time period.  Bottled water will be made available by the JPA for pick up at the JPA Pavilion upon request.  Contact Joe Hebert, JPA President, at pjhebert@charter.net if you need to replace your domestic water supply.
• Irrigation of food crops by water drawn from Joe's Pond should be discontinued during this time.

The JPA will be conducting post-treatment water sampling within 48 hours of the treatment to ensure there is no residual herbicide in and downstream of the treated area.

Two post-treatment aquatic vegetation surveys, one this fall and another in 2027, will be performed  by an environmental consultant to assess the effect of the treatment on both Eurasian watermilfoil and native plant species sensitive to ProcellaCOR.

Results of the post-treatment water sampling and aquatic vegetation surveys will, upon completion, be posted on the JPA website:  www.joespondvermont.com

The JPA apologizes for any inconvenience or other losses of opportunity incurred by JPA members, and other users of Joe's Pond, as a result of this invasive species management operation.  The JPA does not take lightly the decision to utilize an aquatic herbicide to control and potentially eradicate Eurasian watermilfoil from the waters of Joe's Pond but rather, arrives at this decision only after extensive discussion and evaluation of alternatives by the JPA Eurasian Watermilfoil Management Committee and solicitation and consideration of input from the JPA membership.

Thank you to all JPA members and other recreational users of Joe's Pond for your forbearance and understanding of our collective interest in protecting Joe's Pond from the scourge of invasive watermilfoil.

For the Joe's Pond Association

Joe Hebert, President

Barry Cahoon, Water Quality Director

Eurasian Watermilfoil Management Coordinator

        

Season Finale Sunfish Race

 

This is a friendly reminder that the final Sunfish Sailboat race of 2026 is this Sunday. We hope to see many of you out on the water!

Race start: 1:00 p.m. sharp
Rain date: Following Sunday, if needed

The Award Ceremony will follow the race at Mark and Rosie’s cottage on North Shore Road.

As mentioned in the JPA newsletter, our 54-year-old trophy, the Caledonian Cup, was beginning to show its age. When I brought it to NEK Trophy and Engraving, they generously offered to refurbish it at no cost to the Joe’s Pond Association. They replaced all of the nameplates, re-engraved every winner’s name using their new laser engraver, and lightly polished the metal components. The Caledonian Cup looks wonderful once again!

Unfortunately, there is now only enough space remaining to engrave the 2026 winners’ names. At the Award Ceremony, we’ll need to discuss how we would like to move forward with the Caledonian Cup races.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Looking forward to seeing everyone Sunday!

Thank you,

Susan Bouchard

A little history for you: Above, the 1995 winners Bob Kimball and Bob Colomb, and co-chair Tom Dente, winner Jay Chatot, and Tom's co-chair,  Eileen Morrison. At right, the fleet of racers in the 1970s when it was a wonderful new sport and everyone wanted to own a sunfish and be in the race. There were singles, doubles, and occasionally a "Powderpuff Race" for women only. As I recall, races were just about every Sunday, weather permitting, and during the week sailors were out there whenever there was a good wind, practicing. I think Burt Morrisson was giving sailing lessons most years in order  to encourage new and/or young sailors. Not only were there lots of enthusiastic sailors, it became a very popular spectator sport and non-sailors lined up on docks and decks with binoculars to cheer their favorite sailors on. Imagine what it was like navigating with this many boats trying to line up before the start of the race! It took skill, patience, and very often a sense of humor!

Last Call!

  Event details:
> Get ready to have a Party!!
> JPA Annual Cocktail Party - August 22, 2026 at the Pavilion from 5:00 to 7:30
> No tickets required
> BYOB and please bring an appetizer to pass
> Please bring cash and/or checkbook for raffle and Silent Auction
> Contact: Susan Yesalonia  (802-793-3973) or Nancy Buttura (802-279-4146) if you have any questions.

End the Summer Season of Good Times at Joe's Pond with Good Friends!

 

 

The roadsides were trimmed over here on West Shore Road yesterday. I had to go to Cabot Village in the afternoon and everything looks so much better - and visibility on some of those corners is way better now! I noticed the mower guy avoided cutting down the gone-by lupines along the roadside in front of my house - I expect he was afraid he might get yelled at if he cut them. It would have been fine - they have all expelled their seeds and I bet there are small bushes beginning to grow there that I would prefer get cut before they are too big. It doesn't take long for the woods to close in on me and taking down larger trees is always more painful than cutting away bushes. 

It's a beautiful day today and I have a meeting this morning - fortunately here, on my porch. We are getting ready for the Annual Meeting at the Cabot Historical Society and there will be a whole new slate of officers. All but our treasurer are stepping down this year but each will continue working with CHS in their own particular areas of interest. Ruth Goodrich has been our president since Bonnie Dannenberg passed away, and she plans to have genealogy classes at the historical society. We are looking forward to expanding our connections with the community and I think that will be a wonderful addition. Vice President Brittany Butler is going to concentrate on youth programs with school students and CHS. She has done some of that in the past and we're hoping to expand that program. Secretary Marcy Martin has been one of our willing workers and will continue to volunteer wherever she is needed. All three ladies have busy lives and we are fortunate they are willing to find the time to continue working with us.

Our new slate of officers are seasoned, long-time members of the historical society and perfectly suited to their new positions. Fred Ducharme has held offices in town and will lead us as President. Dawn Andrews has a long history working with historical societies and we are excited that she will be our next V.P.;  Amanda Legare has served in various capacities at CHS for many years and will be an excellent secretary. We are happy that Seth O'Brien will continue as our treasurer. We will be nominating at least three more board members to serve as Trustees, which will be a new concept for our organization. 

We are facing critical decisions to get our building repaired and updated, and the new board will have their work cut out for them, finding funding and executing the project. It's a new era for our Historical Society and we are getting prepared for it. There are numerous people in town who have unique experience with organizations such as ours. Some are members, some are not. We hope to engage them to help us become a thriving, well-organized, and interesting resource for historical reference that our community and visitors will use and enjoy. The energy is high - we're excited at the prospects ahead.

The days are getting shorter, school will be starting in another week or two - and summer is over. Darn! It seems to have flown by and I'm really not ready for turning leaves and crispy nights. It is always sad when our summer residents begin to leave. I include both humans and migratory birds; however, we get a whole new crop of both during the colder months. We accept the change, but we will miss our friends. It's been a fun and busy summer at the pond. We still have one more meeting after the Cocktail Party - the Fall Meeting of JPA on September 5th, 10 a.m., at the Pavilion.

Pickleball Tourney Results

 

Hello all.  I wanted to thank all the players, volunteers and spectator's who came on Sat and Sunday for making the 2026 Picklefest and Doubles tourney another success.  So far we have received around  $700 for the PB/tennis courts.  There is still time to donate by either cash, check or Venmo.  It was a lively fun bunch both days celebrating the JP Pickleball community!

 THANK YOU Pam & Joe H, Joanne & Jamie S, Bob M and Jane and Nicole S for all the help keeping both days organized.  

 And a special thanks to the Erdman/McMann/Roberts and Kidney/Bravakis families once again for giving us lots of players and teams for Sat and Sunday’s tourneys.

Saturday’s Picklefest final had Kim Kidney and Charlie Roberts barely beating Laela Roberts and Rob Stewart in an exciting doubles contest.  No doubt some bragging rights for Charlie in the Erdman Camp! (Laela, Kim, Charlie, and Rob at right) 

 In Sunday's double tourney we had another fun and competitive day.   Julie Hendrickson and her daughter Elana (pictured right) dominated the advanced division never losing all day and beating out the Segale bros - Mike and Tom in the final.  The intermediate division featured Chris Burns and Norma Segale (bottom right) getting by the Grandmother-grandson duo of Kim Kidney and Teo Bravakis.   

 It was a fun 2 days of pickleball, laughs and fun.  It was cool to see so many family double teams joining to play on Sunday.  Of the 9 teams who played I believe 7 were made up of family combos.  Brothers, 2 sets of Cousins, Mother-Daughter, Father-Son, Uncle-Nephew and Grandmother-Grandson!  

Cool stuff!      

 Thanks again everyone and see you on the courts!

 Tom Segale

617.909.0960