Have you heard about the Circuit Breaker Credit? Get money back because of the property taxes you have paid. My neighbor, who found out about it only this year, filed for the last three years and received a check totaling over $2,000. Who qualifies? Well, you need to be over 65 years old; made less than $ 46,000 if you file as single, $58,000 as head of a household, and $70,000 if married filing jointly; and your assessed property value is no more than $684,000. You also need to file a state tax return in Mass. The tax relief program was started in 2001 but if you haven’t taken advantage of it you are allowed to file back three years. Check out the link to see if you qualify! You can get up to $870 for 2006 alone! http://www.dor.state.ma.us/help/guides/abate_amend/personal/issues/realestate.htm
VP Organizes Cleanup for Nov. 11th
Mark that calendar again! You are needed and bring a friend! This Saturday, November 11th our 1st Vice President is spearheading a cleanup for the north end of the lake – that stretch of shoreline in Area 1 and 2 which collects a lot of debris from the wind and wave action across the lake. The Town of Sutton is providing a town dump truck and 15 “Pay-as-you-Throw trash bags (33 gallons each bag) for the effort. Volunteers should report between 9 a.m. and noon. In other areas around the lake, if you would like to clean up your bit of the shoreline, the rubbish collected can be brought to the town truck in Area 1 or to the boat ramp for afternoon pick up.
MPA Sets Public Forum on District for Nov. 9th
The Manchaug Pond Association will hold an open forum for all to attend to discuss the creation of a watershed district for Manchaug Pond. The public meeting, Thursday, November 9th, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anne’s Church Hall at 31 Main St. Manchaug. Attorney Walter Jabs Jr. and the MPA will provide information, taking questions and soliciting your input, on this important issue concerning our lake. Draft documents will be available at the meeting, including the proposed District Act, the bylaws and inital meeting warrant and budget. The legislative process to create the district will be explained as well as how the district will operate. A letter notifying those who would be interested in attending has gone out to all abutters along the lake shore, all property owners with water rights, all MPA members past and present including renters, and other supporters. Special thanks to the member who donated the paper and envelops for this mailing :))
3 1/2 inches of rain so far!
Well, the little rain gauge was reading 3 1/2 inches this evening. I’m sure a call to Fuddy tomorrow will tell us want that means for the lake as far as runoff from the watershed and how much it will bring the water up. I can tell you that this culvert that the town fixed a couple weeks ago had a full flow of storm water going into the lake this afternoon! Definitely something that needs to be addressed at a latter date by another nonpoint source pollution grant like we were just awarded. They would probably recommend the installation of a catch basin or something across the street!
What Does that Have to Do With the Lake?
You might take a look at the photo and say, “What does that have to do with the lake and the MPA?” … well nothing, but… my husband took us for a little ride to Vermont on Saturday and there at the visitors’ center just before Brattleboro this metal moose and the sign “Guilford” took me back home and to our own “Guilford of Maine”!
A New Perspective!
What weather we had a dinner time! And continue to have! Is the lake going to fill up in one night?!! This photo was taken, not through a window as it appears, but with the camera out in the rain! The lake is in the center through the trees with my neighbors garage to the left. Did it come down! Not 10 minutes later the wind died down and the sun popped out between the clouds all the while still raining! And of course, I said to my daughter, “Where there’s rain and sun, there’s a rainbow! Lets get down to the lake.” We grabbed the camera and ran down the lake (remember we’re one of those with water rights!) This is what we saw… It is always amazing to me that you can be looking at things one way, say this dark, ominous looking sky and if you would only turned in the other direction – do a 180 degree turn, just look behind you as we did – you would have a totally different scene. Sure enough, when we turned around there was the rainbow in the middle of the storm! as we stood on that dry, rocky …
Gate Repairs Completed!
THE JOB IS DONE! The old gate is history. The new low level outlet gate is in place. The new gate is holding back water. The rubbish screen is in place. The sandbags are gone with a few to the side. The crews have gone home. The pond is on the refill.Now if you visit the dam you will notice there is a flow down to Steven’s Pond out of Manchaug. Yes, the gate is closed tight! BUT the state has required that this minimium flow be maintained “to support aquatic life downstream” thus the gate was made 3/8 of an inch smaller than the previous one. There will always be a flow in the closed position. Our MPA President was at the dam this afternoon getting more pictures and talking with the crews. So believe it, this is the final report, the gate has be replaced! If you see crews there off and on this fall, don’t worry as they will be doing some “cosmetic” type work, replacing a bracket here and there, etc. Nothing major. So I guess now we pray for rain and snow cover! And three cheers for a job well done and a high water …
Dam Gate Repairs Near Complete!
The MPA President was at the dam all day yesterday watching the whole process and learning more about the gates, their operation and the structure of the dam. He tells us the gate is still under water and he took alot of close up pictures which will be shared with blog readers tomorrow. He said as the state dam safety reports state, the dam is structurally sound and is made up of great granite blocks. He also took pictures of the Sutton Highway Department working on the header of a nearby culvert under a nearby road which needed repair. The President met off site today with the crew from R.H. White about today’s work. The crane today (see photo) is larger as it is being used to lift 1600 pound sandbags into place to block the flow so the divers can get the old gate out. Two series of sandbags are planned to block the flow to expose the gate and so the least amount of water is taken out of the lake. The dam owner’s hydraulic engineer from Maine continues to be on site. Yesterday a temporary wood frame was put in to guide and hold the new steel …
Repairs Begin Today on Dam
Here’s a photo taken at 8:45 this morning with a full crew on board from the crane to the plant manager to the work crews to the engineers. The day was wrapping up at 4:30 p.m. There is water coming out of the dam this evening but Fuddy’s friend “Mother Nature” is already working to bring the lake back up to normal!
More on Tomorrow’s Dam Repairs and the Mill
Just had our Area Representative from Area 5 call in saying he spoke with the R.H. White truck at the dam this afternoon… a crane is coming in tomorrow to lift the new gate into place in front of the broken gate so that the switch can be done with little water loss from the pond. Also safety will be the word of the day as the Sutton Rescue will be parked at the site with the workers using harnesses and other safety equipment and precautions. I should mention the previous posting was prompted by our Treasurer who reported the gate was closed tight even though it is broken and was wide open. This put me on the phone to the caretaker. (Read the previous post for his update!) Fuddy also reports news on the mill in Douglas – crews from Canada are currently taking out machinery. Fuddy personally hopes the mill will be sold to a manufacturing company and not for condos. Both our President and an Area Rep. from Area 4 reported hearing rumors out there of a bid being made for the mill and the three dams but this has not been confirmed so we’ll wait for …