Clary Lake Association

News Around the Lake

My plan for this page is just to stick new news at the top and push the old news down, a LIFO list (Last In, First Out) in programmer jargon. That way you can scroll down and see what was news say, a month ago. Eventually stuff will drop off the bottom, but I haven't got any clue where the bottom of this page is yet. We'll know it when we get there though :)

15 July 2008

We have baby loons this year! Tim Harkins sent me a photograph taken yesterday, 14 July 2008, showing 2 baby loon chicks out for a swim with their parents. This is really exciting! I don't remember the last time we had loons chicks on the lake, we've been blessed. Life is hard for loon chicks and their survival is anything but guaranteed. Let's hope they survive. You can help by leaving them alone and giving the family a wide berth if you encounter them on the lake!

17 May 2008

The lake level rose dramatically during the 5" rain storm we had on April 29th which caused serious flooding particularly in northern Maine. Clary Lake rose over 15" in that storm before it started flowing over the top of the dam, for the first time since the infamous Patriot's Day storm a few years ago. Here's a picture I took the day after the rain stopped. The dam held the water just fine. The gate is still open.
The Meserve Mill dam in Jefferson did not fare so well. Though the dam held, the high water eroded away the banks on either side causing the pond to drain. See the Lincoln County News article about the problem and what the town of Jefferson is planning to do about it.

16 April 2008

The ice is out and the loons are back! The ice went out yesterday though there is still some ice down on the east end in Jefferson. We've been having a wonderful stretch of sunny weather and I expected it to go out sometime this week. It seems late, but traditionally mid-April is about right. The water level of the lake is about right for this time of year too. PPM LLC kept the gate open most of the winter which helped keep the lake level from cresting the dam. It was still open as of last week.
Not much to report over the winter. The dam faired well this winter, but the concrete plug has lost a good amount of concrete. The hole doesn't appear to be any worse, which is a good thing. The dam is leaking quite a bit. I'll post some pictures this weekend.
Pleasant Pond Mill LLC tried to get an article on the warrant for Whitefield's Town Meeting last month proposing a zoning change for their property but it was determined that changes to a town's Shoreland Zoning Ordinance requires DEP approval, public hearings, etc., so the proposal was dropped. I don't know if PPM LLC plans to pursue this initiative this year or not.
The Board plans to meet in the next few weeks to get things rolling for this coming year, which looks to be busy one for the Association. There will be plenty of opportunities for our membership to get involved. Stay tuned!

04 December 2007

In response to the recent article in the Lincoln County News (see below), I wrote a letter to the editor of the Lincoln County News to set the record straight on the Association's position on owning the dam. Hopefully it will appear in tomorrow's edition. If not, well you saw it here first.
The first major snow storm of the season blew in yesterday. We got about a foot of snow. Clary Lake was free of ice except around the edges when the storm started but by mid-day it was completely plugged up with a layer of slushy snow. It looks this morning like it's frozen up solid, probably for the winter. This does not bode well for ice skating or ice boating, for the second year in a row. Last year the lake didn't freeze up until shortly after New Years and it was then immediately covered with snow.

28 November 2007

Check out this article in the Lincoln County News Article about Paul Kelley's recent Whitefield Appeal Board meeting. There is another Appeal Board meeting scheduled for 7pm this Tuesday, 04 December 2007.

27 November 2007

I am sorry to report that the potential buyer of the Clary Mill property failed to arrive at an agreement with Paul Kelley to buy the property. As promised, he came to Maine, he met with Mr. Kelley, and he viewed the property. Unfortunately, I'm really not at liberty to say any more about what happened. Suffice it to say he decided not to buy and Mr. Kelley decided not to sell. I am truly greatful for the effort this man has made on our behalf, even if it didn't work out. All the work that people put into this initiative is also greatly appreciated; it was not wasted.

18 November 2007

At the special meeting of the Association held yesterday, 17 November 2007, the Membership voted to accept ownership of the dam. Check out the Meetings page for more information.

15 November 2007

Registered the domain clarylake.org today. That's exciting. It will be a week or so before I've got the domain up and running and serving pages.

12 November 2007

The gate in the dam was opened last Wednesday the 7th of November, near as I can tell. The water level when I checked it Thursday morning was 12" below the top of the dam. Today, the water level is 16.5" below the top of the dam- so it's dropped 4.5" in 5 days, which is about right.

11 November 2007

First entry. Well they say no news is good news and I have no real news at this time. Preparations for the upcoming Special Meeting are coming along. The outcome of the vote shouldn't be a surprise, I'm anticipating an overwhelming marjority of our membership to vote to accept the dam.
I'm anticipating the need for a fund raising committee in the very near future. Eventually, one way or the other, I firmly believe we'll end up owning the dam and that will bring with it ongoing maintenance and repair expenses, increased insurance costs, etc. I'd rather not try to fund these needs with dues increases. Let's come up with some ideas! Consider signing up! If you want to be a part of this yet-to-be-formed fund raising committee, please contact me!

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