What to TaLK About… Districts, Vandals, and Bears! Oh My!

Plenty to talk about this week…

DISTRICT: The Whitin Reservoir group is scheduled to meet tonight with the Town of Douglas Board of Selectman to set the date for the first meeting of the property owners. http://www2.douglasma.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=776 It is at this first meeting that they will formally vote in a Watershed District. After Sutton gave the MPA a no vote, Whitins continued on as they are only in Douglas to file their bill in the state legislature where it was reviewed a couple legislative committees, passed the Senate and the House twice and reviewed and signed by our Governor. Our MPA President has been told that the people of Whitins are totally prepared for this first meeting of the district. The District Clerk of a nearby lake watershed district continues to mentor them in this process.

DAM VANDAL STRIKES a 3rd TIME: Late yesterday, a call was received by the MPA President from the attorney for the dam owner reporting someone had placed sandbags in front of the flashboards the Manchaug Pond dam.
Unknown to me, I had taken this photo in the morning showing not a drop of water flowing through. The dam owner explained the danger of messing with the dam as the force of the water is phenomenal. The police have been notified and a report filed. The sandbags will be removed in the near future as they present a safety problem if the dam needs to be opened quickly. The dam owner will be sending out another letter to property owners in the near future.

BEAR VISITS UXBRIDGE: Today’s Telegram reports Uxbridge Police received numerous reports all over town this weekend of a visiting black bear.
A few years ago, a bear visited a bird feeder here on Manchaug Pond over in the Summer Ct./Bigelow Road area. Check out the following website to get tips as to what to do if a bear visits your neighborhood. Mass Wildlife also recommends you take the suet feeders down from April 1 to December.
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_bears.htm