This is a bit of news that is in the "bitter/sweet" category.  Homer and Margaret Fitts have sold their home at Joe's Pond.  I didn't think to ask Homer how many years he has been a Joe's Ponder, but it has been a long time, and over the years Homer has been a very active member of our Joe's Pond Association (JPA).  He and Elsie, his first wife who died in 2005, both played an active role in JPA.  The first mention I've found of either of them serving was in 1968 when Homer was elected to a one-year term on the JPA Board of Directors.  Elsie served on the playground committee and was instrumental in seeing that grounds and tennis courts were improved, and served as president of JPA in 1980.  Homer was one of the early supporters of the Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest in 1987 and each year has sold literally hundreds of tickets for us.  We have been assured he'll still be one of our most enthusiastic promoters.

Homer and Margaret and have attended business meetings and social events regularly, always contributing with wonderful energy and enthusiasm.  This is why we are sad that because they have sold their property here they will no longer be "official" members of Joe's Pond Association - we will miss them, for sure.  However, we understand the responsibilities of caring for two homes can become a burden as we get older, and knowing a little about their fast-paced social and family life, we can all understand that once the decision was made to sell the Joe's Pond property, they were anxious to "get it done."  For that reason, we are happy for them. We wish them well and hope they continue to feel they are part of the Joe's Pond community and will join their many friends here as often as possible.

Now we welcome the new owners of the yellow cottage by the boating access, Jeffrey and Samantha Perkins and their two children, from East Barre, Vermont.  We look forward to meeting them and wish them all the best that Joe's Pond has to offer.  I'm sure they are going to enjoy their summers here.

I received a note from Andy Rudin today letting us know that the "trash truck" that has been parked at the recycling center in Danville (at the old railroad station) has been deemed to be obstructing the rail/trail, so has been moved to the parking lot at  "Our Lady Queen of Peace" church at 240 Route 2 E.  Andy said he was sure there will be adequate signage at the recycling depot to direct people to the new location of the trash truck.  Knowing this ahead of time may save some of you steps, so I thank Andy for thinking to let us know.
 
Don't forget the steak dinner is tomorrow (Saturday) evening at the pavilion - when I saw Tom Dente yesterday, he still had a few tickets.  Give him a call, 684-3615 if you need tickets - he may still have some, and no tickets will be sold at the door.

We have of course noticed a big increase in traffic, and yes, some vehicles traveling way too fast going by our house on the unofficial detour around the Walden bridge construction.  Jamie Dimick, who has charge of the buoys on the pond during the summer, offered to plant a few of our old "no wake" buoys in the middle of the road along the stretch past summer homes, but after a little thought, we figured some wiseguy would probably try to run over one and get hung up and that would cause a huge pileup, so decided against that idea.  We're going to try a speed cart instead.  Ray Rouleau is looking into that.  This picture is something like what we hope to have in place soon.

I sat on our deck for 15 minutes at mid-morning yesterday and counted 19 vehicles of all shapes, sizes, colors and speeds traveling past our house.  That averages more than one car every minute, and we're more used to maybe three or four cars per hour at that time of day.  That said, Larry Rossi, who is working just down the road from us and often comes from Woodbury by this route, told me that one morning this week he saw a Vermont State Police car, a sheriff's car and a Vermont Department of Transportation (DOT) truck, all apparently monitoring the traffic on West Shore Road.  I was also told that this morning a sheriff was parked on the flat by the summer cottages and stopped at least one speeder.  We were promised there would be an increased police presence during this month-of-the-detour, and apparently that is happening. 

Here is this week's update on the bridge replacement:

Work Update
Walden Bridge Replacement –VT 15
Walden BRF030-3 (5)

Project Location:  Bridge 83 is located on VT 15 in Walden over Joe’s Brook approximately 5 miles southeasterly of the Hardwick/Walden town line. 

BRIDGE 83 ON VT 15 IS CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC.  THE DETOUR BELOW IS IN EFFECT UNTIL THE BRIDGE IS REOPENED. 

Detour - A traffic detour is in effect and marked with directional signs. 

·         Motorists wanting to travel to Hardwick on VT 15 from US 2 West will continue on US 2 West to VT 215 in Marshfield and follow VT 215 to VT 15 in Walden.

·         Motorists traveling from VT 15 in Walden to US 2 East will take VT 215 to Marshfield to US 2 East.

Saturday, 7/11/15 – Crews are planning to work on the project all day.

Week of July 13, 2105

Bridge Closed-   Bridge 83 on VT 15 in Walden over Joe’s Brook is closed to all traffic.   According to the contractor’s schedule, the bridge will remain closed through August 2^nd, 2015. 

Construction – This week, crews will be excavating and cleaning ledge for the sub-footings and placing the precast footings. 

Traffic delays are expected during the closure period while the detour is in effect. Motorists are encouraged to allow for extra time and plan accordingly. 

Contact Francine Perkins, Project Outreach Coordinator, at 802-479-6994 with questions.  Visit www.roadworkupdates.com to view the most recent updates for the project.