Good Morning!

Did you see the moon last night?  Very nice.  This is another pretty day here in the Kingdom.  Our weekend weather held nicely, and except for the public beach being closed, it was just about perfect.  We don't have an update yet from Mert Leonard, but if I haven't had a response by noontime to my e-mail sent this morning, I'll try reaching him by phone.  Because this happened just before the weekend, I expect he hasn't been able to get much information on what was the actual cause of the high E.coli bacteria count - or what to do about it, if anything.

If the Canada geese are fouling the water, it's going to be difficult to remedy the situation.  There are special lights that are supposed to keep them off lawns and docks, and some advertised non-toxic products that can be sprayed on the grass - but that's a temporary fix and the will just move to a different location.  The next time it rains, the water will likely be contaminated again.  I found another site, this time from the State of New Hampshire Environmental Services specifically about contamination of lakes and ponds by geese.  Environmental Fact Sheet.


I have sent an e-mail to our Vermont Environmental Services to see if they have any suggestions.  I'll share their response with you if/when I receive one.

Today I had a message from Ken Koeppner, our liaison on the LVRT (rail trail).  He writes: 

Jane, I wish that I could come to the Joe's Pond meeting and share some good news with the association.

The project is still in the ACT 250 permitting process and we recently were told that all the other permits  (endangered species, wetlands etc.) had to be in place before the Acr 250 permit would be granted. VAST has asked for an extension until Aug 29 to make that happen. The commision has indicated that the would make a ruling 60 days after that. I'll let you know what happens.

Ken Hoeppner

There is an important Select Board meeting coming up in Cabot on Thursday, July 5.  The Board is holding a public hearing "to receive public comment regarding the proposed adoption of an ordinance to allow the operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on Town roadways."  The meeting is at 6 p.m.  If you have any opinions on this issue, you should attend the meeting.  It will be at the Willey Building (the big gray building across from Butter's Restaurant, the former Harry's Hardware, and the Cabot General Store).  Meetings are held in the room under the library, and the entrance is at the south end of the building.

One thing that should be kept in mind about ATVs on the roads is that Cabot does not have a sheriff, and as far as I know, is not covered by any law enforcement except an occasional state police drive-through.  This could mean very little oversight of this added traffic.  The intent of the ordinance is to allow ATVs access to trail heads (either VAST or private trails), if I understand it correctly.  Our back roads are narrow and there is already a great deal of traffic on them - traffic that often goes too fast.  Allowing ATVs may mean there will be more accidents and serious injuries or fatalities added to an already dangerous situation.  This step should be thoroughly explored and all sides heard before a decision is made.  Your attendance or written opinion sent to the board, is critical.  You can send e-mails to the town offices, directed to the Select Board, at: tcocabot@fairpoint.net