Ice-out was Saturday, April 21, at 9 p.m., according to Bob Smart, who enlisted seven observers from around the lake this year to help pinpoint the date. It's the fourth latest ice-out date since records have been kept for our lake. While Danforth Pond and other bodies of water in the area remain ice-covered, spring and warm temperatures are well on the way.
Thanks to the state and the work of volunteers in our three towns, there is constant progress being made to control invasive milfoil on the lake...but it's a never-ending battle. Each year the state writes a summary report detailing where our milfoil is located, and what is being done to control it. Everyone who lives on the lake or recreates here is encouraged to read the report in order to understand the challenge and the work being done to address it.
In a letter from Westward Shore's management, campers have been told that their trailer or RV must comply with the requirements of Ossipee's Floodplain Ordinance by October 20. The compliance requirement is of one of the outcomes of a settlement agreement that ended Freedom's lawsuit against Ossipee over the campground's planned expansion.
A new Ossipee Lake Alliance survey shows state spending to control milfoil almost doubled between 2012 and 2017, but was still less than one-third of the total cost. Lake communities and associations paid the rest.
Ossipee's town attorney told a Superior Court judge the Select Board is committed to developing a plan to prevent the kind of crowding that occurred at the November 28 special town meeting, at which some people were kept outside during the discussion. The court will consider the town's plan at a review hearing in August or September. The town attorney also said discussions to resolve legal issues between the town and Camp Sokokis seller Dianne Sheehan are proceeding, with responsibility for legal fees still on the table.
If you hike, chances are good that you've encountered a Gray Jay--a smart, impulsive, relatively tame bird that will approach looking for food crumbs from your snack or lunch. Gray Jays hide small caches of food throughout their territories in late summer and autumn so they’ll have a ready larder for winter. As such, they can survive cold winter conditions in which other birds can't exist. But now, studies show unseasonably warm weather is threatening Gray Jays' reproductive success.
The sale of the campground is the end of Ossipee's hopes to buy it, but not the end of the litigation surrounding it. Still to be resolved are Ossipee's lawsuit against property owner Sheehan to recoup its expenses based on her alleged breach of contract, and Sheehan's counter-suit for damages alleging breach of contract by the town as well as fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. Also in the wings is a civil suit by two Ossipee residents who charged the town was unprepared for the turnout at the November 28 special town meeting.
Sheehan didn't waive her constitutional right to free speech when she signed an agreement to sell her land, the court ruled. Moreover, it would be impossible for the town to prove that 15 people — the margin of loss in the vote — changed their mind because of Sheehan's actions.
Two Ossipee residents, Joy Gagnon and Joshua Arnold, have filed a civil complaint alleging the right of residents to vote on the Camp Sokokis purchase was compromised by the town's failure to meet the open meeting provisions of the state's right to know law. Specifically they said people who waited outside because of a lack of seating could not hear or register as voters or get handouts to explain how the meeting would operate. The complaint asks the court to mandate a new vote to be held in a larger venue.
After an autumn flood, December was snowy, windy and bitterly cold, with power outages and frost heaves galore. It's the height of winter on the lake.
Ossipee officials claim Camp Sokokis owner Diane Sheehan's lobbying against the town's purchase of her Camp Sokokis property was a "blatant contract breach" of her agreement to sell to the town. Sheehan's attorney said she felt "bullied" into the deal by First Selectman Morgan, and was engaging in "political discourse, which is her right." A state judge will settle the dispute.
The Tale of Two Campgrounds, the boat thief who got away, and all the rest. Ossipee Lake 2017 in review.
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