This message came from Homer Fitts this morning - it's good to know he's doing well with therapy. 

HI -

    I AM DOING REHAB THERAPY REGULARLY.    WHEN HOME HEALTH NURSES ARE HERE WITH ME IT IS GOOD BUT HARD ON ME.    WHEN THEY ARE NOT HERE MARGARET SERVES THE SAME PURPOSE.    SHE MAKES ME DO THE EXERCISES ALSO.   NO SLACKING OFF WHICH IS GOOD.

    MARGARET'S SON AND WIFE FROM OHIO ARE HERE FOR A WEEK.   ALSO LOTS OF HER FAMILY IN AND OUT.    THEN MANY OF MY FRIENDS HAVE STOPPED IN TO VISIT.  REALLY NICE AS I HAVE BEEN HOMEBOUND SINCE SEPT. 18th.  MAYBE BACK TO McDONALDS FOR COFFEE SOME DAY NEXT WEEK.  I ALSO START AQUATIC THERAPY NEXT WEEK.

    NOW IT IS TIME TO WISH YOU ALL A......

"H A P P Y     H A L L O W E E N"

                                                    LOVE AND BLESSINGS,

                                                            HOMER AND MARGARET

*****

Please join Cabot residents and the Vermont State Police for a Cabot Neighborhood Watch Program orientation to be held tomorrow night; November 1, 2012 at 7 pm in the Willey Building 2nd floor meeting room in Cabot, Vermont. All are welcome!

* * * * *

This came from Steve Allen this morning: 

Jane,
We are in NH where the storm really didn't amount to much, although my son, about 3/4 of a mile down the road, has been without power since last evening!  We are wondering how the Pond came through.

Here in NH we find ourselves with a high speed internet connection!  Nice being in the real world! 

We have unbattened our hatches....

Steve

I let Steve know the pond has apparently come through Sandy with no ill effects.  If there has been any damage or lost items, I have not heard about it.  I also heard from Tom Dente in Connecticut – he said:

We, for once, did not lose power. However if you go only 5-10 miles from us in any direction there are 1000's of people out of service. Currently half the customers in CT are out.

We are getting intermittent rain today, but the temperature is holding around 50 degrees, so it isn’t that uncomfortable – just very dreary.  If the areas that were hit so hard by the storm are having the same kind of weather, it will make it even harder on them.  It would be nice to have some sunshine to help dry things out and lift spirits. 

Tonight will not be a pleasant night locally for Trick-Or-Treating, but I’ve seen lots of Halloweens with snow on the ground here in Cabot.  October is a challenge weather-wise – but November can be downright gloomy.  I think it is the month with the least sun in our location.   But then there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to.  We should be hearing Christmas music any day now . . . !  (Does that make you feel better or worse?)  For now, Happy Halloween!

Important notice from Cabot Town Clerk, Tara Rogerson:

This morning it has come to my attention that I am unable to allow absentee ballot voters to submit a new ballot once it has been returned to this office, as I previously stated in the email circulated below.  Vermont Statute 17 VSA § 2543 states, “Once an early voter absentee ballot has been returned to the clerk in the sealed envelope with the signed certificate, it shall be stored in a secure place and shall not be returned to the voter for any reason.”

I apologize for the inaccurate extension of the statute and my duties.

Tara Rogerson

Cabot Town Clerk & Treasurer

PO Box 36, 3084 Main Street

Cabot, Vermont 05647

802-563-2279

802-917-2992 (cell)

We seem to have come through "Sandy" with very little damage here at Joe's Pond.  I haven't heard of anything, and we didn't even lose our power on this side of the pond.  The wind and rain was heavy  until around midnight, but then let up.  This morning I had .71 in. of rain in my gauge, and the highest my wind gauge registered was 24.1 m.p.h.  

I took this picture a little while ago - things are soggy and there are no leaves left on any of the trees - even the tamaracks have been pretty well stripped of their needles, as you can see by the row of them along the road.  Our driveway had been littered with maple leaves, but this morning it is swept clean - not a leaf in sight on the pavement.  There are still plenty of leaves on the ground, but neatly packed into ravines and caught in underbrush in the woods.

This morning we did our walk up Jamie's driveway - well, I walked, Fred ran and did it four times - and the temperature was mild - 50 something.  It's 54 right now, cloudy and some rain showers and gusty winds.  I suppose with strong wind gusts some of the trees that are in soggy soil could topple, but so far so good.  We're relieved, of course, especially when watching the devastation in other parts of New England and states south of us.  Many people here were thinking in terms of "Irene," but it wasn't as bad as feared.  Wisely, lots of schools are closed today to allow utility crews to get power back and clear debris from the roads.

We know some of our Joe's Ponders were in areas that have been hit very hard by this storm, and as soon as we hear from them, I'll post messages here.  We have members who live on Long Island, in Connecticut, NYC, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania - just about every state along the coast, and I'm anxious to hear if they are ok.  With power outages at the very least, they will be busy handling what is necessary to be safe and get through the next several days.

Here is a report on the results of last week's Community Visit meeting:

Dear Cabot Community Members,

At the Community Meeting last Thursday over 50 Cabot community members set three priorities for action to advance the community (see full descriptions below):

·        Build a Cabot Agricultural Network

·        Improve Community Communications

·        Develop a Cabot Community Arts Center

Now we need your help! Task force groups are being formed to help address these key priorities. A number of volunteers signed up Thursday but we hope more members of the Cabot community will volunteer to join one or more task force groups. Simply reply to this email and let us know the task force(s) that you would like to participate in and we will add you to the list. And spread the word by forwarding this email along to others in the community.

The next meeting in the Community Visit process has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 27 from 6:30 to 9:00pm at the Willey Building. VCRD will bring a new Visiting Team of state, federal, regional, non-profit, and philanthropic leaders to Cabot to help task force groups as they develop action steps and resource ideas to move these projects forward. Cabot has set an ambitious agenda; it can succeed in these goals if residents line up for action.

Hope to see you on November 27^th!

Jan Westervelt

Cabot Community Visit Chair

jrwcabot@yahoo.com

563-2489

Paul Costello

Executive Director

Vermont Council on Rural Development

223-5763

info@vtrural.org

---

Here's some background and more detail:

On October 25^th over 50 Cabot community members gathered in a community meeting to consider the ideas that were discussed through the Cabot Community Visit process and to set priorities for action. At the meeting, the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) presented a list of all the key directions that the community had put on the table at the public forums on September 25^h and school forums on September 21^st. Participants discussed what was most important and most needed and voted on the priorities that they thought the community should line up to accomplish. Then, a number of folks signed up to serve on Task Forces to move these issues forward over the course of the next year. The top 3 priorities that participants chose are listed below.

Cabot Community Visit Priorities

Determined by Cabot community members at the VCRD Community Meeting, October 25^th 2012.

Build a Cabot Agricultural Network

Cabot has deep agricultural traditions and assets, but the farm, food, and value-added producers in town do not get together in any systematic way for mutual benefit. Cabot could build an agricultural and food system network that could eventually help aggregate, market, and distribute products, act as a producers circle, address infrastructure opportunities, connect Cabot farmers and producers to the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, encourage or incubate new small farm operations and value-added businesses, and work together in other ways to support a strong agricultural future in the town.

Improve Community Communications

Some residents complain about communications gaps and the lack of knowledge about all the good things going on in the community. A Cabot Communications Task Force could advance community communications by linking all local activities into a common calendar with an on-line portal like Front Porch Forum’s calendar widget inserted into the websites of all municipal and community groups. This team could also put all the gathered information into a Cabot bulletin board in the village and share it in the Chronicle.

Develop a Cabot Community Arts Center

Cabot residents celebrate the diversity of arts, crafts and local products in the community. Many believe that a Task Force of Cabot residents could come together and identify a space in town to be redeveloped as an arts center. A Cabot Arts Center could include an outlet and showplace for local art and products, studio space, and space for youth to gather and for local music, movies, or theatrical performances to occur.

 I was awakened by an eerie rosy light streaming into our bedroom this morning. The sun was positioned in back of the White Mountains and just breaking through heavy clouds.  I knew I had only seconds to get a picture, so I dashed out on our deck in my night gown, bare feet and sleepy-eyed, to try to capture it.  I shot several pictures quickly and scampered inside when I heard a car coming up West Shore Road.  

Minutes later, Fred called to me saying there was a strange light in the living room.  The sky had changed from red to gold, and was again spectacular to watch.

We checked the web cams at Rossi's, but it was dark enough so the night vision element was still on, and that washes out the color, so it wasn't showing up like we were seeing it here.  Then I checked the webcam at Nubble Light, one of our favorite spots in York, Maine, and they were engulfed in fog.

A few minutes ago I got this gloomy shot, same location, same inappropriately dressed camera person, but a totally different take on what the day may have in store for us.  The clouds are thick and ominous.  There is a little breeze, and we're at 45 degrees.  Nothing very unusual happening, but we know there's more to come.

We've had a response from Green Mountain Power saying they've lowered the water level as much as the Public Service Board allows, so we're hoping we don't get tons of rain along with the wind that's expected.  Wherever you are today - some of you in the storm, perhaps, some expecting it, and others apart from it, be safe in whatever you're about.  By this afternoon we should be feeling at least some of the effects of the storm here.  High winds are predicted, coming at us from the east, 30-40 mph gusting to 60.  These are the instructions posted for our area from about 2 p.m. today to about noon Tuesday:
 

Secure your home, close storm shutters and secure outdoor objects or bring them indoors.

Turn off utilities if instructed to do so. Otherwise, turn the refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed.

Turn off propane tanks.

Ensure a supply of water for sanitary purpose such as cleaning and flushing toilets. Fill the bathtub and other larger containers with water.

I had a meeting at the Cabot Historical Society building this afternoon.  It was much colder in there than it was outside, and even though I'd worn a sweater and a normally pretty warm jacket, after sitting for a little over an hour there, I was chilled to the bone.  The ride home with warm air blasting at me in my heated seat and hanging onto my heated steering wheel, wasn't long enough to get me warmed up.  We had turned down the thermostat in the house during these nice days which had been fine, even for me at my computer which is often where I notice my feet are cold, so I asked Fred to turn up the heat.  Finally, after hot soup and hot tea for supper, two layers of sweaters, a fleece blanket and Woody in my lap for a couple hours, I finally got warmed up.  Woody, a natural lap warmer, was beside himself with all the soft fleece and sweaters to knit on.  Now he's curled up on the desk next to me as I'm working here - he's such a good buddy.

Earlier this afternoon, I'd started washing the outside windows - well, the one in my office, at least.  I've been meaning to get that done for a while now, but only remember it when the sun is shining in and I can see all the fly specks and smudges.  I got that one finished and left for my meeting.  When I returned, Fred had finished all the others - every single one!  He always does the big ones in the living room, but I generally do at least some of the others.  I don't mind washing windows on nice fall days.  I am always inspired to get it done before it gets too cold, otherwise I'm left looking through smudgy windows all winter, and that drives me a little crazy.  It used to be we always did the windows inside and out before putting on storm windows, but we haven't dealt with storm windows since we were living at camp.  That was a chore, but it always seemed cozy once they were all clean and in place.  It's always quieter with the storm windows on, too.  I notice a big difference, too, when we get the glass panels in the outside doors - I don't hear traffic.  It's always nice in the spring when I put the screens in place and can have the doors and windows open, too.  Just some of the benefits in living where there are changes in the seasons.

I still have work to do in my gardens, but that may have to wait until after "Sandy" is out of here.  No point in mulching with leaves or covering anything if it's going to get blown away.  This may be one of those years when it simply doesn't get done.  It won't be the end of the world, I'm sure.  The tulips and daffies will arrive as usual, and other perennials will poke through the earth with or without mulch.  I'm not going to wrap up my azalea this year.  Last spring it looked awful when I unwrapped it - all brown leaves that fell off, so now I'm thinking if I just put a frame over so it won't be broken down by snow, it may do better without any other covering.  I've tried burlap, blankets and plastic, and nothing seems to be a perfect solution.  I was going to remove it this spring, but last minute decided to cut it back and leave it in place.  Over the summer it came back strong as ever.  

Keep safe if you are in the path of the storm.  We're still not sure how much we'll be affected here at Joe's Pond, but the latest forecasts are saying there will be high winds and power outages.  So we won't be going anywhere we don't absolutely need to.  
 

From Tara Rogerson, Cabot Town Clerk:

I’ve heard concerns about absentee ballots already returned to the Town Clerk’s Office from voters who were uncertain the meaning of the ATV Article and what a YES or NO vote would mean.  I’ve been told that after receiving additional information about the ATV vote and survey by mail, that some may wish to change their ballot…

I’m trying to get out the word that CABOT VOTERS WHO HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED THEIR ABSENTEE BALLOTS STILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THEIR VOTE!!   All voters have the right to change their mind up to the moment the ballot is put into the ballot box and may request a new ballot if theirs is incorrect.

Please contact me by email or cell phone to have another mailed to you, or come to the office in person and fill it out, but we have to have the new ballots in our possession by Election Day, November 6th at 5pm.

It’s your vote… make it count!

Tara Rogerson

Cabot Town Clerk & Treasurer
PO Box 36, 3084 Main Street
Cabot, Vermont 05647
 802-563-2279
 802-917-2992  (cell)

We had a quick response from Green Mountain Power Corporation that controls the water level in Joe's Pond with the dam in West Danville.  As some of you will recall, there was a break in the penstock last year that washed out the power station at West Danville.  This has prevented generating power, but the dam controlling the water level is still perfectly functional.  Here is the response from Josh at GMP: 

Hi Tom,
 We have fielded a few emails through the call center as well.  Unfortunately, the hydro plant is not in operation.  There is still a good deal of work to be done there, however we have full control at the dam.  In preparation for this event we have drawn down the pond to the lower end of the acceptable range, and have also made an adjustment to the rubber bag which will allow it to fully deflate sooner as the pond rises.  We will be monitoring the pond level round the clock, and our field operator will be making adjustments as necessary throughout the event.  We are watching closely and hoping for a minimal rain event at this point - looking like more wind than precip right now, but still a little uncertain. 

Regards,
Josh

 * * * * *

 We hope the water will flow out of the pond freely enough to prevent flooding, but with the limits set by the Public Service Board some years ago, Washington Electric is unable to manage the level effectively in some instances.  Previous to those restrictions, the water level could be drawn down well below "normal" to allow for unusual circumstances such as "Sandy," or spring runoff in years when there is a lot of snow.  The Joe's Pond Association has asked the PSB numerous times to reconsider their limits, but PSB remains adamant.  We will keep trying; perhaps one day there will be a different mind set in that office and we may be able to at least reach a compromise. Tom and Camilla live in Middletown, Connecticut, which is likely to be impacted strongly by "Sandy."  Tom added that they have put away deck and lawn furniture and plants, and they will be prepared.  Fred and I will have a reserve of water in the bathtub and plenty of drinking water on hand in case the power goes out.  It could be a rocky week coming up, so enjoy the weekend, but also use it to stock up and batten down in preparation. 

I apologize about the font differences here - I can't seem to get the blogger program to do what I want this morning, and my technical adviser is otherwise occupied. 

The conversation regarding ATVs on Cabot's roads is becoming heated.  There are several postings on the Cabot version of Front Porch Forum you perhaps will want to read if you live in Cabot and will be voting on November 6th.  It costs nothing to join Front Porch Forum, and I think you'll find it a useful tool.  

In preparation for our own live web cam debut, we've been looking at other live camera sites.  Fred posted one from Alaska today.  You can reach it on home page under "Comments." Click on "Alaska Bears, etc."- or click here.  There was not much to see except a little snow falling and birds flying tonight when I just checked it, but hopefully tomorrow we can see some bears feeding on salmon.  I watched one of people in Times Square this afternoon.  Amazing.  I know most cities have numerous cameras these days, but I had to wonder how people feel knowing there's a camera watching their every move.  Ours will be a little different - not much going on at the pond right now, but when "Sandy" gets here, perhaps it'll be a little more interesting.  I think we'll have it ready for you by then.

We have received inquiries as to whether the water level in the pond is being let down to the lowest level possible in anticipation of the coming storm. Today, Joe's Pond Association President, Tom Dente, directed the following message to Josh Castonguay and Brian Fitzgerald at Green Mountain Power Corp.:

We have received calls wondering if water level should be taken to it lowest limit with Hurricane Sandy about to pay a visit? Have repairs been completed at the dam so the generator can run thus releasing more water downstream and help with the flooding? Please let me know so we can inform the members.

Thanks

Tom Dente
Joe's Pond Association
West Danville, Vermont

As soon as either Tom or I have heard from GMP, I will post their response here on the blog and on the web site.