Category Archives: Town/Community

21 September 2021: Dry Fire Hydrant Installation Complete

It’s been a long time coming, but finally the dry fire hydrant installation over at the Clary Lake dam is complete. The work was started on Saturday but we encountered ledge which required a redesign of the piping and a few more elbows. Work resumed on Monday and proceeded quickly. The hydrant is actually located on land belonging to Steve and Julie Cowles, adjacent to the Clary Lake dam property. Access to the hydrant is over the Association property. Many thanks to David Boynton for donating his time and equipment and for Steve Cowles for managing this project!

The Clary Lake Association provided the funding for this project and has plans to install another dry fire hydrant in Jefferson near the intersection of Routes 215 and 126 perhaps as soon as next year. Here are more pictures of this installation:

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22 April 2021: Browntail Moth Update

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry (DACF) and other groups are predicting the 2021 Browntail Moth season will be a bad one. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News (worth reading!) is claiming this will be the worst infestation of BTM in over a century. It sounds like hyperbole but could well be true. The picture at left is a small section of a Browntail Moth 2021 Winter Web Moth Survey (PDF) published by the DACF shows the results of a drive-by survey conducted earlier this winter, hence the survey data are along major roads. The blow up includes Whitefield & Jefferson and shows medium to heavy concentrations of Browntail moth webs along Routes 126, 218, and 215 (South Clary Road). Of particular concern is not just the number of webs spotted (dot colors primarily yellow, tan, and red), but the density of dots which is an indication of how many individual vehicle stops were made. I’ve inserted the above picture into Google Earth. Download this KMZ file and load it into Google Earth. Continue reading →

26 August 2020: State Boat Launch Posted No Swimming

We were as surprised as anyone when a No Swimming sign appeared at the State boat launch on Clary Lake a few weeks ago. We spoke to Diano Circo, Chief Planner at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) and asked about the sign. It appears there have been numerous complaints of swimmers not getting out of the way when a boater wants to launch or retrieve their craft, both at the Clary launch and at other State-owned launches around the State. According to Mr. Circo, the IF&W has decided to post all State-owned boat launches. Whether this is true or not we can’t say, but another reliable source has confirmed that the State does plan on taking this action in the near future. Department of Conservation rules of conduct at State boat launch facilities prohibit swimming at State-owned boat launches but the no swimming rule has generally not been enforced. That “look the other way” stance has apparently changed. Continue reading →

4th of July Clary Lake Boat Parade

Bill & Sue McKeen getting a plug in for the Whitefield Library.

Well the 4th of July 2020 Clary Lake Boat Parade happened, here are pictures to prove it. There were so many boats traveling at different speeds it was impossible to get one picture that showed all of them. There were boats all over the lake. What a sight! It was so well attended and so much fun that I can’t imagine it won’t happen again next year. Many thanks to Shanna Pease for organizing it!

Here’s a gallery of pictures. I took a lot of them, and people sent me even more pictures. It took a while to sort through and resize them and in the process I lost track of who took what so I’m sorry for the lack of attributions.

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6 May 2020: Browntail Moth Season Ahead!

A Browntail Moth caterpillar with the 2 distinctive orange dots at one end of it’s body.

Any day now, over-wintered Browntail Moth caterpillars will start to emerge from their tree-top leaf nests and start eating. Last year they did a great job (?) of defoliating Oak trees around Clary Lake and spreading their poisonous hairs all over the place. The south shore of the lake by Hodsdon Lane was particularly hard hit. I haven’t seen near as many Browntail moth nests in the trees around my house this spring, making me think this year the infestation may be less severe than last year, but it still pays to be alert to the risk they pose to our trees and our health. According to the newly published Browntail Moth Risk Map (PDF | 2.44 MB) however, the towns of Whitefield and Jefferson still have a HIGH Browntail Moth Risk Rating. Continue reading →

02 April 2020: Local Woman Tests Positive for Covid-19

Many of you know Arlene Wing. Arlene is a Registered Nurse and went through CDC sponsored pandemic training about 15 years ago. She has continued to study microbiology and epidemiology and not surprisingly, she has a much better grasp than most people of what happens when epidemics and pandemics arise. Back at the beginning of March of this year she started a Facebook page called “About Covid 19.” Her intention has been to post helpful information about Covid 19 without the politics, spin, and hyperbole that accompanies so much 0f what’s out there, and to offer her unique perspective into this pandemic in the belief that being informed and prepared reduces fear and improves outcomes. I’ve been following her page since she started it, and have found her posts to be both helpful and informative. Continue reading →