Town of Sutton Transfer Station Goes to Bags

This week is it to dump that rubbish before the “Pay-As-You-Throw” Program begins at the Sutton transfer station. July 1st you will need a $25.00 1 year sticker/permit to enter the station and dispose of recycleables, bags of rubbish and other items. The town has a long list of “other items” and their fees from $5 for a can of paint to $10. for a chair to $25. for a TV. And the bags…. a big $2.50 for the 33 gallon size (Worcester charges $1, I am told) and $1.25 for the 14 gallon bag. The bags are only available at the Town Hall and the Sutton Center Store/gas station. With recycling and composting, my household still generates about 6-10 14 gallon bags a week. Thats a good total and $$ per year! Perhaps a compactor for unrecycleable plastics and a shredder to recycle or campfire the office paper!

Another Sunday Visitor for Area 4

Another Sunday morning and we have company! A month ago it was a fox on my door step. This morning a visit from Mrs. Mallard and the twins! You can see the route she took: over the yard of the lake-front cottage, across the road, and on to my lawn. Perhaps the rain has made for few handouts on the lake (or she has had enough of the rain too and longs for dry land!) How many little families are on the lake this season? Anyone counting? On the serious side… another visitor came in the afternoon – the MPA President. He brought sample legislation and bylaws for me to review for the watershed district effort. We’re moving ahead! Check back – I’ll keep you posted!

UNANIMOUS! Pursue Watershed District!

A crowded hall was the location of last night’s meeting called by the Manchaug Pond Association to discuss the sale of the dam at Manchaug Pond and explore the option of establishing a watershed district. MPA members and other residents along the lake’s shore listened to the COLAP speaker and District Clerk of Cedar Meadow Lake Watershed District tell of the sale of his lake’s dam, and the 7 years of low water levels held by the new owner to try to get $$ out of the residents. The MPA President led the meeting explaining the vote of the Board to Directors to point the MPA to the best option for the members and other residents: formation of a watershed district. The MPA has been talking with the mill and their law firm for a few months monitoring the situation and keeping communication open.

Red Sky at Night, Sailors’ Delight. NOT!

What a storm came up moments after this red sky showed itself!! Mega wind, hail, rain, thunder, lightning. Whew! Glad our house is one row back as half the back yard, cabanas, etc, blew east into the trees as it is! (This picture is what you see when you are not waterfront…. before you run down to the lake!)

Membership Meeting June 22 on the DAM!

The dam is going up for sale. Hmmm… That is a big one! I’ve been on the MPA Board of Directors over 20 years and short of the issue which brought our MPA Founding Father together, the proposed remake of Camp Blanchard to a campground, I have to say that this is just as big an issue to tackle – possibly bigger! What makes this issue one of the most important? Let’s look at past MPA action and results: * Certainly, the current DEP Storm Drain grant (and watershed survey and water quality testing) we submitted this month is a big one as it will address some weed problems for the long term, and the few high nutrient levels we have seen here and there which concern public health. * Also, the town management of the Public Boat Ramp was a big feather in our cap as we secured the portable toilets to eliminate the use of Blueberry Island and the other islands as bathrooms. Remember the complains of what used to float in to resident’s beaches!! * That effort also got us the Gatekeeper who closes the ramp when the parking lot is full, eliminating the parking up and …

On the Water!

Sure felt good to be out on the water! Enough with the rain! The lake is full and we are ready for summer. Bring on the sunshine!

Photo from Area 2

A great photo of a sunset taken from Area 2 by our Vice President. I won’t say when – let’s just say it is from the archives!

MPA Emergency Mtg June 22!

Our dam is scheduled to be sold. As of Friday it was not yet on the market, but it will go as well as the Guilford mill and the other to dams: Guilboa and Whitin. MPA President Dave Schmidt and the Board of Directors have been monitoring the situation; speaking directly with Guilford, their law firm, and leading residents of Whtin Reservoir; as well as exploring the options which would best benefit us- the people who live on and near the lake. Thursday, June 22nd at 7pm at St Anne’s Church hall, the MPA is calling a meeting of all members and interested parties to decide what action we need to take. A guest speaker, the District Clerk of the Cedar Meadows Watershed District, will tell you how the dam on his lake was sold to a private party who proceeded to let the water level down and tried to get $$ from the residents before he would raise the level. This went on for 7 years until they united to form an association and take control of the water rights and the dam through the subsequent formation of a watershed district. We have an association- the MPA. We have …

Water Level Remains Over Full as Raining Continues

Here’s a photo of the main gate and spillway of our dam – the water is raging out at full force! When we are over full, Fuddy will check more than once a day to make sure he has it open enough to have an effect. The past few weeks he has had to take out boards as the lake continues to rise.

Thunderstorm Hits Lake and Puts Us Over Full!

Thursday evening a thunderstorm rolled in and brought rain, hail and the destructive lightning we all dread. The Sutton Girls Softball teams playing at Camp Blanchard canceled the 6 p.m. game with the rain starting about 5:50. A large white pine tree was hit by lightning on Manchaug Road and another strike on Irma Jones Rd started a home on fire with the Manchaug/Sutton Fire Dept. responding within minutes. Our power went out at 6 p.m. and was restored Friday afternoon around 1:00. My cable was just restored this evening … Thurs.-Sunday. Is that good service? When I called Saturday I was on hold for 1 hour before I got to talk to someone. When I called today I found out I was scheduled for appointment on the 7th ?! Four neighbors called me to compare notes…. we learned that the Cable Company won’t send the truck out until 3 homes have called reporting an outage- SIX called but not all were registered as an outage. Ugh! And the lake… Fuddy reported Saturday morning that the lake was 4 inches OVER full and he is measuring twice a day and watching homes for flooding after having opened the dam a …

Memorial Day and Water Level is at FULL!

Our friend Fuddy, the caretaker of Manchaug, Whitins and the Gilboa Dams for the dam owner called yesterday morning to report the water level is at FULL as promised. Saturday the lake was down one inch but came up to the full mark by Sunday morning.Some laugh and call Fuddy “lucky”, but he wants you to know that he is doing what he always has done for the past 22 years. He does credit “Mother Nature” for the rain! Fuddy further reports that he and 4 others remain at the Douglas mill: an environmental, fireman, electrician, and a mechanic. The mill is quiet with few coming in to check it out.