Eaton resident John Robert Colcord has been charged with setting a rash of fires, including a June blaze in the near-by Ossipee Pine Barrens.
The Nature Conservancy takes a flight over the Ossipee Pine Barrens.
It was goodbye to 410 in 2011.
No snow, warm temperatures predicted through the holiday.
From fighting to revise the 410 Rule to fighting for more State milfoil control money, our work relies on the financial support of people like you.
Looking back over the years, there is usually ice on Broad Bay by now. Not this year.
Searching for unique geological features is part of the enjoyment of hiking this Ossipee Range peak.
The whole process was fun, from figuring out how to get there, to driving through the historic section of Ossipee called Moultonville, to the hike, and to finally getting back down to our car at dusk.
With many species dying off at an alarming rate, experts worry it’s only a matter of time before insect populations begin to rise, threatening crops and forests and leading to billions of dollars in agricultural losses.
The drawdown has started. Now it’s up to Mother Nature.
Reacting to Fish and Game’s proposal to improve access to Ossipee Lake at the Pine River boat landing on Route 25, Freedom and Ossipee officials say the state should fund a boat inspection program at the site to keep new milfoil out.
In a letter to a local newspaper, David and Susan Dube, owners of the popular eatery, say thanks and goodbye.
The State’s plan to “improve the functionality” of Ossipee Lake’s main point of no-cost boat access will be presented for discussion at two public meetings on Wednesday September 21.
Restoration efforts for the unique ecosystem will produce smoke that is likely to be seen from the lake.
A former Madison firefighter is being held in connection with an Eaton fire and officials say additional charges are possible.
The dam remains wide open, but the level could rise to 410′ in the next couple of days.
Nor one injured in incident caused by Irene’s high winds.
The State Dam Bureau is preparing for Hurricane Irene and the potential for flooding on the lake.
DES says a decline in water quality could cripple state revenue from recreation and tourism and hit lake property owners hard.
Ossipee Lake Alliance hails “solution that worked for everybody.”
Local conservation groups will detail current and planned programs to protect the Ossipee Lake Watershed.
The social value of our mountains is incalculable, yet there is constant pressure – always with money from elsewhere – to develop the land surrounding them.
Freedom Old Home Week cardboard boat contest is open to all, including summer residents, campers and guests.
Add Marjorie Point and Sunset Cove to sites being managed by local conservation officials.
Leavitt Bay fire ruled accidental.
Twelve loons died from lead poisoning last year. Lead fishing tackle is called a major factor.
Authorities don’t yet know if this fire is part of a string of suspicious fires that have been set over the last month and a half.
Homes on Watson Hill Road in Freedom and Glines Hill Road in Eaton are the latest targets in a rash of intentionally-set blazes.
An arsonist appears to be at loose in the area after homes in Freedom and Eaton burn. Homeowners are urged to be vigilant.
Firefighters smother burning inboard in foam at Totem Pole Park.
Bob Reynolds will serve as a public member of the N.H. Exotic Aquatic Weeds and Species Committee.
Ossipee Lake Alliance survey shows lakefront towns and associations pick up most of the tab for milfoil control efforts in the state.
If you’re not a member of an Ossipee Lake property owners association, or if you’re not sure your association is attending this weekend’s important meeting, you should contact us.
Three blazes in the Ossipee Pine Barrens appear to have been deliberately set.
The state’s lack of a long-term plan to finance milfoil control puts the financial burden on lake communities like Ossipee and Freedom.
SB-27 is voted “inexpedient to legislate” by a count of 276-75.
Marine Patrol would be merged with the State Police and the number of officers patrolling the state’s 975 water bodies and its coastline could drop from 80 to 48 if the state adopts a House proposal.
Bob Smart has the latest on the state’s plan for managing the lake’s water level.
Alliance credits state and local officials for “a terrific outcome to a complex issue.”
State Senate will have the final word on several programs important to Ossipee Lake.
The budget process “must include strategies to uphold the essential role government plays in fulfilling its social contract to protect and provide for those-in-need and sustain our communities,” according to a position statement from the N.H. Center for Non-Profits, which says the non-profit sector contributes more than $8 billion, or 14.5%, of the state’s GDP.
A favorite local site for walking, blueberry picking, and gazing at Ossipee Lake and the Ossipee Range receives protection.
Winter has lost its grip on Ossipee Lake.
N.H. Lakes Association and the Nature Conservancy are among those who say cuts to the state’s natural resources agencies “undermine the foundations of sustainable economic development.” Two well-known lake initiatives are among the programs set to be terminated.
A bill to re-set Ossipee Lake’s benchmark from 410 ft. to 407.25 ft. has cleared the state senate and is headed to the governor for signature.
The boat speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee doesn’t apply to Ossipee Lake, but what’s being learned from the speed limit law is important for all of the state’s large lakes.
Poll shows 69 percent of respondents want limits and oppose the bill to increase the daytime limit to 55 mph in the “broads,” a proposal, backed by an anti-speed limit group, that recently passed out of the Senate on a 13-11 vote and is awaiting a vote in the House.
Ossipee Lake is one of the area’s bodies of water where landlocked salmon can be caught and keep between now and the end of September.
Most of the snow is gone but the ice continues to cover the lake and bays.
New ground water protection ordinances pass in Freedom, Madison and Effingham.
In an article, State Representative Mark McConkey discusses why he does not support the proposed groundwater protection ordinances as currently written.
There is a giant reserve of drinking water under six towns in Carroll County. This March, those towns are proposing ordinances to keep it clean.
An Ossipee resident argues that the ordinances to be voted on at Town Meeting are essential and are pro-business. “Clean water, along with great scenery, is crucial to attracting new residents and new businesses to the Lakes Region.”
Voters on March 8 should approve their town’s Aquifer protection ordinance “to create a web of consistent safeguards for our drinking water supply across the entire watershed.”
Carroll County Independent editorial urges support at Town Meeting for a warrant article that “is vital to the literal health” of the towns situated over the Ossipee Aquifer.
Select Board Chairman Les Babb says the proposal is meant to address the town’s top two liability concerns.
Freedom Selectmen will apply for state funding to replace the deteriorating span on Ossipee Lake Road.
Conway Daily Sun columnist Ed Parsons revisits a local favorite.
A Carroll County Independent editorial questions the logic of SB 27, which seeks “to replace a single objective standard with at least six subjective ones” in regard to the Lake Winnipesaukee boat speed limits.
Annual event is open to adults and children.
New Hampshire Dam Bureau head Jim Gallagher says the natural high water mark appears to be “no more than 408 feet” based on the investigation so far.
Legislation moves forward as State officials miss a self-imposed deadline of resolving the “410 Rule” by January. Additional legal and environmental issues surface.
Merrow and Leavitt say ‘yes’ to accepting a state grant, Maloney says ‘no’ and cites possible impact on drinking water.
Mandates will be targeted for scaling back, including the Shoreland Protection Act.
But members of the Building Committee, appointed by the Selectmen last June, say the Board is ignoring its work and dismissing its opinions without consideration.
Residents say a cell tower company’s claim that a proposed 175 ft. Moulton Road tower won’t affect property values is wrong.
Does the number ’410′ ring a bell?
The equipment measuring the water level has been inaccurate since December 9.
A December 1 deluge followed by an expected drop of 3″ per day means the lake won’t be at the winter draw-down level until New Year’s Day.
Permit fees are down, threatening programs that protect the state’s wetlands and lakes, and the Co-Chair of the N.H. House Republican Alliance files a bill to repeal the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act in its entirety.
Anti-speed limit group hopes new Republican majority will scrap the recently enacted Lake Winnipesaukee speed limit law.
A six-month study on what to do about the Town Office is put on the back burner as the board re-focuses on a likely $1 million to $2 million request for capital funding to improve the police and fire departments.
Developer is still looking to build a driving course on Mount Whittier.
Recommendations will be finalized on November 30 with a goal to “improve clarity and enforcement of the ordinance” without imposing new costs on businesses.
“Office campus” option would include purchase of adjacent property and buildings to address code issues and would keep municipal functions in the village. Committee will discuss its recommendation with the Select Board on Monday, November 29.
State legislator says lake property owners receive the benefit of milfoil control programs so they should pay more of the cost.
Before cheering state budget cuts, state taxpayers should consider that the cost of governing will be shifted to local communities, says a Concord Monitor editorial.
Balloon test planned for Saturday as residents express concerns over Moulton Road site.
In the House race, Democrat Susan Wylie is defeated as a Republican wave rolls through Carroll County.
There’s heavy lifting equipment at the dam as repair work continues.
Weed samples near the Effingham shore above the Ossipee River Dam have tested positive as the indestructible invasive.
90% of respondents in Alliance online poll say Ossipee officials should implement the plan recommended in March by DES, which includes an initial treatment with 2,4-D.
Ossipee’s Select Board should “make up its mind one way or another” about state-recommended chemical treatments to address the town’s growing milfoil problem, according to an editorial in the Carroll County Independent. Take our poll on the issue at the end of the story.
All’s quiet on the water level front. No plan for an early drawdown regarding the 410 Rule investigation.
But implementation of the complete milfoil control plan recommended by DES and the Conservation Commission in March remains in limbo.
Ossipee businesswoman and volunteer helped revive Long Sands Association.
State promises a ruling on the controversial 410 benchmark by year-end, but elected officials say they’ll have legislation prepared just in case. Carroll County Independent praises the “refreshing vibe” of the meeting as a “civil, polite and articulate” exchange of ideas and opinions.
DES’s controversial interpretation of the lake’s natural mean high water mark will be discussed by state and local officials at Ossipee Town Hall at 9 a.m.
Compliance with regulations remains strong, but a growing number of incidents has law enforcement officers handing out citations.
State and local officials will discuss the controversial “410 Rule” and take questions on Saturday August 14 at 9 a.m. in Ossipee Town Hall.
August 3rd event by John Cooley of the Loon Preservation Committee will include a discussion about the birth of two loon chicks on Leavitt Bay this June – the first documented loon birth on the lake since the late 1970s.
Boaters are asked to give Berry Bay’s loon family wide berth in wake of the first-ever documented birth of loons on the lake.
State officials pay site visit and plan to return again in the fall.
A tour of the lake and the Ossipee River dam will be part of a day-long visit of State officials next week.
Freedom, Ossipee and Effingham were hit hard two years ago, but was that unusual? A state official says tornadoes “can happen here as much as anywhere.”
High-water-line law means state owns at least 12 houses.
Online survey shows a high level of concern about the impact of the controversial law, even among those whose property loss is minimal. A public meeting is planned for August.
Berry Bay sightings are a reminder that bears are active around the lake at this time of year.
It’s the date everyone scrambles for at the last minute, and we have it way early.
Long-time Ossipee Selectman, who held state office from 2002-2008, says he’s concerned with state spending.
Could be freed after serving six months of a one-year sentence.
But not when Boston wins the World Series.
Deadline is the end of Sunday, May 9th.
Unique volunteer effort is creating an invaluable database on the health of our state’s lakes.
Center Ossipee youth, 19, is alleged to be ringleader in theft of $50,000 in marine equipment from Ward’s Boat Shop and Lakefront Landing Marina.
Mount Washington Auto Road will open for the season on Saturday – a bit earlier than usual.
State-funded launch area will create a new option for local kayakers and canoeists.
Goal is to convince DES to lower the “mean natural high water” benchmark at meetings this summer.
A long-time Freedom resident points out Thompson’s many contributions from the 1950s through the 1960s that are still evident today.
Here’s what to do.
Judge rejects prosecution’s request to revoke her right to drive and operate a boat for three years.
Property owners are concerned they don’t own property they have been paying taxes on for decades.
Lake association asks for help in finding $6,000 in aluminum dock ramps.
…but there’s a new coating of snow on the ground this weekend.
Sun columnist Ed Parsons visits a favorite local outlook as his list of early morning “peace hikes” continues to grow.
Can anyone in Concord explain why the Donald Lee environmental case is still unresolved after 22 years?
Given the rain this week, Sunday at noon should be a good time to mark the 410 ft. water level.
Judge cites boater in fatal Winnipesaukee crash for “egregious behavior” and “negligent driving” in I-93 speeding incident.
At the current water level, big lake property owners can see approximately how much of their property is owned by the State; those in the bays and channels will be able to make the same observation in the next few days as the high water works its way toward the dam.
Ossipee Lake Alliance will conduct a lake-wide survey to find out.
Jurors find Laconia resident guilty of negligent homicide for failing to keep a proper lookout, but are unable to reach a verdict on the more serious charge of negligent homicide by intoxication.
Winter weather has been on a slow retreat and is almost gone.
Panel in Blizzard trial seeks added time for deliberation.
Prosecutors rested their negligent homicide case against Erica Blizzard yesterday with contradicting testimony about her alcohol consumption before the fatal crash.
Prosecutors in the Erica Blizzard case reveal boat driver’s results.
Incumbent selectman Kathleen Maloney holds on to Ossipee seat by four votes.
Police Chief says ban is in reaction to “vacationers on Ossipee Lake.”
Big turnout, little appetite for the $3+ million price tag.
Rick Morgan says his run against Kathleen Maloney has nothing to do with Maloney’s failed attempt last year to go outside the department to hire his replacement.
Prosecutor says driver’s blood-alcohol content was 1.5 times the state’s limit.
Roland Libby, better known as Harry, was a familiar face at the end of a favorite hike.
Driver in Winnipesaukee accident faces charges of DWI and failing to look out.
Challenger Cunningham stresses “unity rather than partisanship,” says he’ll represent long-term residents and newcomers equally. Incumbent Brown says he needs “three more years to continue the work that needs to be done.”
Challenger Morgan says he has an “open mind on the subject of consolidating fire departments, wants to “challenge and reward” town employees to help find ways to save money. Incumbent Maloney hopes more businesses will choose Ossipee, says she wants “more evidence” before state implements milfoil control plan on the lake.
Hint: It’s not to a warm southern climate.
Winnipesaukee trial of speed law is set to expire at the end of the year.
If approved by voters, municipal building upgrades will cost more than $3 million no matter where the services are located. Proposed town operating budget tops $2.18 million.
Consulting firm will be on hand to explain and discuss its recommendation that three fire precincts be consolidated into one and given centralized administrative control.
Freedom challenger says his candidacy “is about public service and making a contribution to Freedom’s future.”
Ossipee Lake property owner John Hardie says he will file for relief for his Hodgson Shore property, and so will Westward Shores Campground, where he works.
Businessman Scott Cunningham will run against Jim Brown in Freedom, and former Ossipee Police Chief Rick Morgan will face Kathleen Maloney in March elections.
Managers of the town’s Milfoil Control Trust Fund ramp up the effort to roll back the effects of the invasive weed in Lake Winnipesaukee’s most severe infestation.
Popular episode of the radio program “This American Life” is a kind of real life Hardy Boys mystery set in Freedom.
Judge says Lee has “made diligent efforts” to respond to a September 2006 order to remediate damage to the lake and grants him another six months to comply.
Local officials obtain a concession from DES, but resolution of the “410 Law” is deferred.
A dive team is expected to be called in to determine how to remove the vehicles from the big lake. [Picture Added].
Ice jams, floods and closed roads all around – but not here on Ossipee Lake and Ossipee River.
Selectman Harry Merrow and State Representative Mark McConkey on Monday will explain what they have found so far about the benchmark that gives the state ownership of shorefront land up to 410 ft. above sea level.
Three top jobs are among the municipal positions up for grabs on the eve of the candidate filing period, which starts tomorrow and runs through January 29th.
Membership in a club, like the Ossipee Valley Snowmobile Club, is a good way to get acquainted with a sport that has become family-friendly.
The lake community is invited to participate in a cookbook project that will benefit local charitable groups.
Upper Saco Valley Land Trust partners with Eaton to preserve land on near-by Foss Mountain, a popular spot for hikers and blueberry-pickers.
“The face of New Hampshire Lakes” is cited for accomplishments and selfless dedication.
A New Year thaw raises the lake level before the cold sets in, but skiing is what’s really on our mind.
A judge in the long-running Donald Lee case will hear six motions on Monday, one of which has been pending for almost three years.
Donated good and services could allow the visitor’s parking lot to be completed by spring at the town’s scenic Route 16 ‘viewshed’ property.
White-nose disease cuts population in New England caves.
Ossipee Lake Alliance’s executive director says resolution of the “natural high water mark” and milfoil control funding issues will affect everyone, on and off the lake.
Freedom’s Article 26 panel recommends consolidating fire and police services on Village Road and letting voters decide the fate of the current Town Office building.
Site options are clear, but tempers flare over what will be presented to voters in the spring.
Ossipee Lake Alliance chairs a meeting for state and local officials to discuss the legal and financial implications of the lake’s seemingly arbitrary “natural high water” benchmark.
A bankruptcy, a murder trial and more milfoil…but there was good news too!
Ossipee resident was a three-term selectman who also served on the Carroll County Commission and Ossipee Conservation Commission.
N.H. Fish and Game has tips on how to know when lakes and ponds are safe for winter recreation.
Ossipee Lake Alliance and local selectmen and conservation officials discuss how to improve communication, funding and coordination of milfoil control projects across the three-town lake system.
Real winter arrived on the lake yesterday.
Henniker resident admits blazing trails, setting the stage for an agreement between Chocorua Forestlands and the state; but other privately owned lands are not included in the agreement and remain off limits.
An article from Massachusetts newspaper the Eagle-Tribune warns that careless disposal of Thanksgiving wreaths and centerpieces can inadvertently spread oriental bittersweet and other non-native species.
A bankruptcy court judge has given the ailing business 90 days to work on its financial reorganization, and has approved hiring an attorney to pursue the conversion of campsites to condo units.
The bare summit of Middle Sister is just the ticket for a unique view of Mount Chocorua.
All the best from everyone at Ossipee Lake Alliance.
State survey shows plenty of native weeds but no invasives.
The charitable organization NEGEF helped us launch the Alliance eight years ago. Here’s why we hope you will support their “Rootshare” campaign with a $10 contribution.
Proposed chemical treatment for milfoil is safe for the lake, DES official Amy Smagula tells local officials; and the Carroll County Independent praises her presentation in an editorial.
Type of treatment and cost will be on the agenda at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting.
County official will launch a formal inquiry on two incidents, the most recent on October 25 when dispatchers say it took five minutes and three attempts to reach an officer at 3:22 a.m.
Committee instructs the consultants to calculate the relative costs for each option, and will convene again on November 24.
Highland Lake property owner is also on the hook for the bill to remediate the damage.
The Nature Conservancy’s Jeff Lougee describes this year’s work in the Ossipee Pine Barrens.
Freedom is one of the towns eligible to participate in a plan to televise municipal meetings and sports events while creating opportunities for students to learn TV production. Time Warner Cable franchise fees could cover most of the cost, says the meeting organizer.
A year after a devastating fire at Kranky Franky’s on Route 16, a 99-seat restaurant will open with a name that was first used at the site in the 1930s.
Long-time Berry Bay property owners Jean and Ian Marshall are participating in the process of assessing options for updating the town’s municipal buildings.
As more designs options are presented, property owners next to the current Town Office building say they will sell a portion of their property to help address parking concerns.
As predicted, another surprise flood (if you’ll forgive the contradiction).
A DES official offers an update on the the plan to replace a deteriorating section of the Ossipee River complex that controls the level of the lake.
Sun columnist Parsons takes to the Ossipee Range to find out what makes mapmaker and trail access proponent Bob Garrison tick.
Classic military cuisine was on the menu last month when Lazy Susan’s Dave Dube hosted a meal at his Berry Bay home.
The next meeting of the committee that’s considering options is tonight, Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m.
Lake and village residents are among the volunteers who have created the Scarboro Ridge Trail across Prospect Mountain.
Water level is going down, but it seems we almost always get a flood before Christmas.
More public education is planned, but there will also be citations for violations.
Little action, no rulings in local legal cases.
The court system is clogged, but in a stroke of pure randomness, three important local legal fights are scheduled to take place in a span of four days this week.
Conway official asks Freedom selectmen to participate in local cable government access channel.
DES tells how environmentally-friendly businesses can be part of your autumn travel plans.
Nancy Griffin has enthusiasm and ambitious plans for the century-old landmark.
Second delay in the trial of the woman accused of negligent homicide in a fatal June 2008 boat crash on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Girls have changed, but the camp experience has stayed the same says the camp’s director.
Saying they are in the dark about key issues in the ongoing bankruptcy, a group of campers is using the Internet to share legal documents, opinions and advice.
Treatment options will be developed for Pickerel Cove in Broad Bay, the seventh location in the Ossipee Lake system to be infested.
Residents meet with professional firm hired to help the town retain its character while addressing municipal building needs.
The trashing of private land in the Ossipee Range is an opportunity for debate between groups who have conflicting views on land stewardship to foster solutions to their disagreements.
Claims exceed liquidation value and a reorganization plan is unlikely, according to court documents asking the court to lift the temporary stay that blocked the property from being sold at auction.
At the end of year one of a two-year test on Lake Winnipesaukee, there is little consensus on the effects of speed limit enforcement.
‘Unauthorized’ mapmaker faces landowner opposition in the Ossipee Range.
Modern mankind is entitled to lots of things, but we are not entitled to trash other people’s property, says a Carroll County Independent editorial about the destruction of private land in the Ossipee Range.
New rules would govern tents, campers and yurts on private property. [Editor's note: This is a corrected version of this story].
Some people receive a gift and they cherish it. Others might receive a similar present and abuse it. The latter has been the case with 12,000 acres of forest in the Ossipee Mountains.
Henniker resident with a history of “rogue trailblazing” is eyed as a potential suspect in extensive damage caused to ancient volcanic ring lands, including tree-cutting, trail-clearing and herbicide use. State officials join private land owners in announcing the closing.
“It’s a big box waiting for the buyer who thinks outside the box,” according to the owner of the landmark Center Ossipee building and grain elevator to be sold at auction on Saturday at noon.
If you have writing experience and are interested in local events, here’s a job opening that could be a good fit.
Kinship and the love of Ossipee Lake brings dozens of members of the far-flung Thurell-Pascoe family back home, year after year.
Costs to the town are revealed to a citizens’ group as questions arise about the selectmen’s agreement to let the business pay for another court appeal.
Ossipee Lake Hits 1,000 fans and continues to grow.
Board also discusses annual maintenance schedule for town buildings, ATVs on town roads in Mount View, fast cars on North Broad Bay Road.
It’s been a mostly dry week for a change.
Head to Town Hall on Saturday for the Fireman’s lobster supper at 5 p.m., then catch “Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire” at 8 p.m. outdoors under the tent at Calumet.
The family of a Massachusetts snowmobiler who was killed near Berry Bay in March has donated a “snowbulance” rescue vehicle to Freedom and made a donation to the West Ossipee Fire Department rescue team.
They can all be found in New Hampshire’s mountains – including our own Ossipee Range – and we’ll have the inside story at a special family-oriented Tales of Ossipee Lake presentation on Saturday night, August 8.
Coffee, muffins and gossip are on the menu, starting today.
Water clarity is down from all the rain, but temps are rising and summer is fleeting.
Freedom board rejects Ossipee Lake Marina’s request to overturn a 2002 ZBA ruling, saying it doesn’t matter whether the road is public or private.
Foreclosure auction is canceled while owner works to reorganize and set the stage for the future sale of campsites as condominium units.
N.H. Lakes Association official urges awareness, but says lakes are checked regularly for cyanobacteria and are “among the cleanest in the nation.”
UNH researchers investigate a potential connection between blue-green algae blooms and unusually high rates of a deadly neurological disease found in several lake communities.
Ossipee Lake resident Sean Fitzpatrick’s love-murder case will be the subject of a two-hour “Dateline NBC” program Friday night, July 17.
Camp Calumet is one of several area camps whose directors say rainy weather hasn’t affected activities or enrollment.
A new summary of public documents shows little progress has been made in addressing long-standing state and local issues at the controversial business.
Boaters need to use common sense on river, West Ossipee’s Brad Eldridge says.
Bats are dying, bugs are proliferating and it sure doesn’t feel like summer.
Sales agent confirms postponement to July 24, and owner reports progress in resolving financing issues.
The family-oriented campground is scheduled to go on the auction block this Friday morning.
Almost seven years to the day after the Freedom zoning board restricted his access to Alvino Road, Ossipee Lake Marina’s owner says the ruling is illegal.
The heavy rains have created challenging conditions on local rivers.
Feedback from the participants of Ossipee Lake Alliance’s biennial lake forum will help the non-profit organization set its agenda for the next few years.
Safety Services director David Barrett says “there will be arrests this weekend” as the Marine Patrol begins participation in a national awareness campaign.
The new management plan is the win-win outcome everyone hoped for but few believed was possible.
Everyone benefits from DRED’s balanced management plan.
DRED says the well-known local site, a National Natural Landmark, is one of 27 properties that are incompatible with the state’s funding model for parks.
Campers past and present at Westward Shores continue to speak out.
Parents may sue to stop Rocco’s rehiring.
Says campground’s current owners have made important investments in the business, and unhappy campers should meet with him directly to discuss their issues.
Westward Shores owner Charlie Smith says financial issues are being resolved and he’s confident the auction won’t happen.
Freedom selectmen vote 3-0 to appeal boat storage case and let Kevin Price pay for it.
Owners think long-time customers will want to invest in campsites. Application hearing at tonight’s Ossipee Planning Board meeting is the start of a potentially long process.
Mother Nature again reminds us that a little bit of widespread rain can result in a lot of lake level rise in a short period of time.
A final decision to proceed to the Supreme Court is still pending a formal vote by the Board, however.
Zoning Officer asks if he should enforce the 2002 ZBA Alvino Road prohibition; Selectman Babb says he thinks the ruling was probably in error, and tells him to ask the State Municipal Association. Ex-Selectman Cupka asks the Board to appeal the boat storage case to State Supreme Court; Marina owner Price says he’ll pay the town to do it.
State and local officials continue to be perplexed by the volume of accidents at the junction of Routes 25 and 153.
Is the lake still too cold for swimming? Conway Daily Sun columnist Ed Parsons knows where you can stretch your legs in near-by Wonolancet to see some unique late-spring sights this holiday weekend.
State agency allows Ossipee Lake Marina’s docks back in the lake, but legal issues remain unresolved.
Volunteer boaters, area residents and members of State agencies post signs and remove trash in advance of the new management plan for the big lake site.
Mandatory recycling begins July 1.
Ossipee Lake Alliance’s biennial event, to be held at Calumet on June 13, will focus on lake management.
New DES program seeks to improve the agency’s technical assistance and permitting programs to achieve superior environmental results.
The Donald Lee case earns another dubious distinction as a Motion for Contempt slips into its third year without a court ruling.
A suction harvesting device called DAMM is helping lakes cope with milfoil control.
State judge says the Freedom ZBA was wrong to approve unlimited boat storage at Ossipee Lake Marina.
DES official is cautiously optimistic that the state’s financial woes won’t stop the proposed plan.
Public communications to be discussed, and a volunteer clean-up is planned.
Republican seat stays Republican.
Bud Martin, a retired judge, sees himself as a conservative Democrat, while Bush-era Congressman Jeb Bradley wants to send a harsh anti-tax message to Concord.
New book by a national taxpayer organization lists funding for New Hampshire’s popular milfoil prevention initiative as an example of wasteful government spending.
Fans of the lake can now connect online through Facebook.
A State official says the company has been asked to clarify that the posting is a joke or remove it.
Judge issues an emergency relief order after the Attorney General’s office authorizes the environmental violator to encumber the property with a $150,000 mortgage.
Lakes and ponds remain ice-covered, but with patches of open water.
Couple purchases lot for $325,000 and grants septic easement to Eaton Village Preservation Society.
Professional divers will again pull weeds in Danforth Pond, but the planned treatment of invasives with chemicals will have to wait until 2010.
Board chairman Babb says members will represent “all sides and all views” in implementing Town Meeting-approved Article 26.
Red cap idea falls far short as public weighs in on the issue.
The N.H. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a bill that will require swimmers on six state lakes – including Ossipee Lake – to wear a red cap when swimming beyond 150 feet from shore.
Senator Denley-sponsored bill voted “inexpedient to legislate” by a 21-2 margin.
And “Morty” Leavitt will be the town’s new selectman.
Ran campaign on increasing transparency and openness in town government.
Also approve Heritage Commission, Danforth Pond milfoil removal.
Freedom voters will decide the fate of a proposed municipal land purchase, and Ossipee voters will consider a feasibility study for consolidating its three separate fire precincts.
Christopher Haynes is the third snowmobile fatality in New Hampshire this winter.
State officials are continuing to investigate Sunday’s accident near Berry Bay.
Massachusetts man found unconscious after hitting an embankment.
Technical maintenance issues at our web-hosting company created an outage that took our website and email service down for the weekend. As of 9 a.m. (ET) this morning, the website is back up and we are receiving the back-log of emails.
Former Ossipee Lake resident will not be eligible for parole.
Library-sponsored event Thursday night is for candidates to introduce themselves and discuss why they are running for public office.
State Senator, representing Ossipee Lake’s three towns and the surrounding area, was elected to a first term in November.
Sonny English was also active for 48 years in the Effingham Fire Department.
Jury pins two first-degree murder charges on former Ossipee Lake resident, who will be sentenced on Monday.
Zoning officer overruled. Selectmen say they won’t appeal.
Police worry Sean Fitzpatrick could go free with second mistrial.
One remains hospitalized from Sunday night incident. [UPDATED: 2/16, 9 pm, WMUR-TV video report]
Local favorite faces an uncertain future as townspeople are asked to fund land purchase for a required septic system upgrade.
“Tradition” is behind the decision not to combine a discussion of two competing articles at Town Meeting — one which would authorize the town to purchase land for a new municipal complex, and a second which would put the purchase on hold until taxpayers understand the alternatives and total costs.
Ossipee Lake resident is charged in 2006 double murder.
Selectmen and local citizens group agree the town needs to update its municipal space, but disagree on the process of determining where and how. Residents will decide with votes on competing warrant articles.
Working Group members, who are helping DRED officials prepare to implement the Ossipee Lake Natural Area management plan, tackle a number of complicated issues at their most recent meeting.
In the last two weeks, temperatures have been below zero most nights. As far down as –16 several times.
Pick a destination such as a mountain top, or do a loop. Sun columnist Ed Parsons suggests trails in the area.
This year’s snowfall is running ahead of last year’s near-record total.
Ossipee Valley Snowmobile Club maintains more than 50 trails, some abutting Ossipee Lake.
Ossipee Lake resident charged with two counts of first degree murder in love triangle case.
Officials say they are “very much in favor of going forward” with purchasing land for a new municipal complex despite not having firm answers on the project’s total cost. Voters will decide in March.
James Lamm believes the court-ordered dredging of the Lovell River could damage his property, which he says runs to the center of the river.
Second meeting of the group helping DRED finalize its management plan for the Ossipee Lake property.
Trekking up Mount Washington typifies the thrill of any winter hike: a chance to experience familiar settings anew, when forests and rocky slopes are decked out in winter’s dazzling finery, icicles and all.
Selectmen will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 19, to hear questions and comments on the proposed move of municipal offices to outside the village. Residents will vote on the issue in March.
Or was it the first SUV? The conversion kits created and sold at White’s Garage in West Ossipee are recalled on the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford’s Model T.
Selectmen suspend Zoning Officer’s cease and desist order for the holidays, but the controversy over winter use of “condominiumized” cottages on the former Houle property remains unresolved.
The State has major issues with Ossipee Lake Marina, and settling them will require changes in how the business operates.
It was a Leap Year…did you notice?
Residents question the rush to buy land to move town offices out of the village. Land Committee says residents unanimously approved warrants supporting the project.
The Supreme Court finds an error in the lower court’s decision to overturn the Freedom ZBA, and the parties will head back to court in 2009.
To proceed, the $14,000 project will have to be funded locally.
Records and advance notice of commission meetings have not always been posted and some have mysteriously disappeared from online archives.
It is anticipated that the Committee will propose purchasing land on Route 153 to relocate Freedom’s town offices and the fire and police stations.
Will face charges of negligent homicide and aggravated driving in connection with fatal June 15 accident.
Citing major violations, DES orders the business to remove its docks from the lake and apply for approval to put them back next year.
Tonight’s meeting has been re-scheduled to Tuesday, December 16 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall, weather permitting.
There’s ice on the lake, and snow. Winter has begun.
But a local group plans to raise questions at a public meeting this Thursday night, December 11.
“Apparent disconnect” between Freedom officials and citizens over town’s website should be addressed, newspaper editorial says.
Inmate turned master craftsman donates proceeds to Whittier Bridge restoration project.
DES says Lee failed to provide complete information.
In a public letter, Alliance says the state is off to a good start in managing the Natural Area advisory group.
More than 5,600 users have signed on as fans, but state officials say they didn’t create it.
Boaters, environmentalists and state officials seek common ground at group’s first meeting.
Judge slams Robert LaPointe, says he lied to the court and showed a “stunning” lack of remorse.
Judge again delays ruling on a contempt charge and sets a new court date for January.
Bills are in the mail and due on December 12.
Just $60,000 is available for statewide requests exceeding $450,000.
The Ossipee Mountain sasquatch is one of the many tales of mystery and imagination in a new book about New Hampshire.
“The Beans of Egypt, Maine” author Carolyn Chute’s unusual life in near-by Parsonsfield inspired her new novel, about to be released.
Incumbents Olkkola, Cunningham and Heard are replaced in this week’s election.
Select panel of state agencies, local organizations and boaters will advise DRED on implementing the property’s management plan.
A good hike can be a walk in the woods, like a stroll in the Ossipee Range or on Foss Mountain at dusk.
Case grinds on, with the latest contempt of court motion scheduled to be heard on November 24.
Heritage and preservation specialists will outline potential strategies at a public meeting on Wednesday night, October 22nd.
Local business owner says Freedom is at a crossroads in considering its future.
All predictions are for a great weekend. Weather is warm, no rain, color is great and Ossipee Lake is 1-2″ above summer level.
Near-by pond has new invasive species.
Robert LaPointe could be tried again.
Snowy peak and peak foliage in the northern reaches signal the approach of Columbus Day weekend.
District Attorney says a second trial on manslaughter charges is possible in high-profile Maine case.
Massachusetts man refutes court testimony as high-profile Maine case winds down.
Water safety also makes list in 2008 N.H. Lakes Association survey.
Wealthy retirees are continuing to reshape the state’s lakes, most dramatically on the state’s largest body of water.
Will specialize in long-term development activities for the non-profit lake organization.
The Browns hope people will ask themselves what they would do in a similar situation.
Ossipee Lake Alliance story prompts strong responses.
District Attorney Gerald Leone says a second trial for Fitzpatrick will begin on January 20.
But the man who was first promised the job is mum on whether he will seek legal recourse.
A neighbor’s complaint sparks debate over the Ossipee Lake webcam.
Tim Cupka calls town’s monitoring of Alvino Road gate a “waste of money”
Rate of reproduction is too low to maintain a stable population.
Five units – 65 acres in all – will be carefully burned in second year of program to restore the globally rare Ossipee Pine Barrens.
DES specialist says the use of 2,4-D could cripple the invasive weed for 3-5 years, making it easier to manage with non-chemical methods in the future.
Middlesex District Attorney says prosecutors will prepare for a second trial in the case of former lake resident Sean Fitzpatrick.
State considers restricions on high-performance boats in wake of fatal crash similar to June tragedy on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Taking the stand, lake resident says he tried to mislead investigators, who considered him a suspect in the killing of his ex-lover’s husband.
Lake group seeks civil fines and a lien on the Massachusetts resident’s property for willful non-compliance with a court-ordered environmental clean-up.
Grieving dad also awarded $2.5 million attachment on house of alleged killer.
Selectmen bow to pressure, allowing current chief and two others to appoint a seven-member panel of citizens that will pick the town’s next chief of police.
Widow details affair that allegedly led to murder of husband by Ossipee Lake resident.
You’re right, according to Briggs Bunker, longtime local weather cooperative observer for the U.S. Weather Service, whose reports are aired live daily on WMWV 93.5-FM’s “Morning Weather Show.”
Was that an eagle on the lake? Quite likely it was, as birder and naturalist Mark Suomala will explain at this Saturday night’s Tales of Ossipee Lake presentation.
Local store pulls them from its shelves after a fire starts at Camp Huckins.
National network will be hauling its cameras to a Massachusetts courtroom and the burned-out Ossipee Lake home of the man accused of gunning down a romantic rival two years ago.
Investigators say an affair between the victim’s wife and neighbor Sean Fitzpatrick sparked the 2006 crime.
Comments posted on the Alliance website paint a different picture, but Eldridge stands by her story in letters to officials.
Sun columnist Parsons traverses the old carriage road to Mt. Roberts in the magical Ossipee Range.
Open to all taxpayers from Ossipee, Freedom and Effingham.
National Weather Service confirms storm that hit Route 16 in Ossipee and Route 153 in Effingham was a tornado.
DES will provide training on the lake if enough local divers are interested.
DES uses ‘underwater vacuum’ in fight against invasive plant.
In a few weeks, New Hampshire will find out how many loons it has left. But the state already knows that if the birds are to live, the lead has to go.
Lots of rain and even some hail on the big lake, but a pretty steady water level so far this summer.
Lead poisoning is the culprit, and the Loon Preservation Committee thinks the current lead sinker ban doesn’t go far enough.
Alliance presentation at Calumet offered practical tips and advice for homeowners on Ossipee Lake and elsewhere in the watershed.
Starting August 31, citizens can petition to have lakes and ponds brought under the state mooring law, which currently only applies to the state’s six largest bodies of water.
A Wolfeboro man was arrested after trying to ride a snowmobile across Lake Winnipesaukee on the fourth of July.
Responding to a string of public complaints, Ossipee fire chief denies firefighter misconduct on Ossipee Lake.
Now restoration can begin on the structure spanning Ossipee Lake’s Bearcamp River.
Representatives from several state agencies were on hand to provide answers, collect feedback and answer questions of affected property owners, boaters and the general public regarding the 30-page draft.
Report stresses a need for ‘changes in public behavior’ to protect Long Sands Natural Area.
Saying “I do think the lake needs to be a place everybody can enjoy. I think speed is an issue on the lake,” Lynch approves a daytime limit of 45 mph and 25 mph at night, effective in 2009 for a two-year test.
Part of the shoreline would be open for public access and the remainder would be closed to protect natural and historical resources. Officials say success depends on public support from boaters, local communities and stakeholder groups.
Contributors to the guidebook “Landscaping at the Water’s Edge” will be at Calumet Conference Center in Freedom at 9 a.m. on Saturday June 21 to offer practical tips and techniques on how attractive landscaping and water protection can go hand in hand. Coffee and muffins at 8:30. A free event.
Diamond Island property owner offers an account of Sunday’s deadly late-night boat crash on Lake Winnipesauke.
Public comments will be solicited after the long-promised management plan for the state-owned property is made public next week.
The authors of a recent book on lakeside landscaping will show how you can spruce up your property while protecting water quality and wildlife.
Ossipee Lake Alliance is marking its fifth anniversary this summer with continued efforts to involve more people in charting the lake’s future and a search for a volunteer Wildlife Coordinator.
The black flies are back so it is time to put the docks and boats in. I know of only one snow pile yet to melt.
If signed by the governor, the bill will limit boats to 45 miles per hour during the day and 25 miles per hour at night for the next two years, after which the law expires if not renewed.
Selling a waterfront property? Starting next year faulty septic systems must be reported to state and local officials at the time of sale.
Is there an end in sight for the lake’s long-running court cases? Recent legal filings show there is movement, at least.
Ossipee Lake Alliance and Ward’s Boat Shop help Ossipee Conservation Commission fund another summer of boat inspections on Pequawket Trail.
Volunteer water quality monitoring initiative protects Ossipee Lake and 174 other state lakes and ponds, providing vital long-term data.
Greetings from the white and slippery slopes of Ossipee Lake. As of 6 pm Sunday, April 13, 2008 it looks like spring may really come this year. Water level on the big lake is 409.75′ (2.5′ above summer level) and will go higher.
Town is now within $20,000 of covering the $1M price tag to save the historic Bearcamp River structure.
Status report offered on NHLA-sponsored bills covering waterfront septic failure notification and moorings requirements.
All well and good, but what the lake community really wants to know is where it’s going to go when it melts.
Replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is coming to lakeside park, thanks to local volunteers.
Capping a more than year-long fundraising effort, Ossipee Conservation Commission has purchased the Route 16 “Window on the Ossipee Mountains” property.
No one injured as Long Sands Road vacation home burns to the ground during yesterday’s snow storm.
Multi-part coverage by the Concord Monitor on how Washington derailed DRED’s attempts to force communities to open more public lands to ATVs.
Non-binding resolution on property taxes gained traction at town meetings despite opponents’ claims that it is misleading and dishonest.
It has been a rough month for buildings in the area as they surrendered to Mother Nature. Hardest hit was Camp Marist, the summer camp located on Route 25 in Effingham.
Former three-term selectman Harry Merrow outpolled two other candidates by a wide margin Tuesday in a race to fill the seat of longtime selectman Joseph Skehan, who died in February.
We have been in Freedom for nine winters and this is the first time snow off the garage roof was up to the edge of the roof (almost 8′). We were very happy to have the snow on the ground rather than on the roof.
Remember Mount Whittier? Then you probably remember Tyrol and Intervale ski areas too. Vanished but still cherished local slopes are the focus of a website and a talk this Sunday at the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway.
It has been a great winter for skiers in central and northern New England, but the heavy snowfall has become a nightmare for municipal budgets and the owners of dozens of buildings whose roofs have collapsed.
In a letter issued this week, members of the Ossipee Conservation Commission said the organization is within $19,900 of being able to purchase the Route 16 ‘viewshed’ property in its “Window on the Ossipee Mountains” initiative.
With the latest snowstorm on Tuesday night, North Conway set new records for the snowiest February and the snowiest winter in 34 years. But it’s still not the snowiest winter on record.
Today’s predicted snow storm could make the winter of 2007-2008 one for the record book.
One arrest but no serious injuries in weekend snowmobile accidents on Ossipee Lake and Silver Lake. Ice remains dangerous in many places spots, officials say.
Two people suffered hypothermia after going through the ice on Lake Ossipee Saturday morning. Officials said they were on a snowmobile heading to an ice house to take part in the Great Rotary Fishing Derby when they went through.
Ossipee Monday was mourning the death of selectman Joseph G. Skehan Jr, a town father and business leader who was remembered for his decades of public service and private generosity. Skehan died after a period of illness and he had heart trouble, friends and fellow selectmen said.
State asks City Council to pay for milfoil control. Mayor calls the request “another pass-down” and asks why the State continues to under-fund milfoil control while building more public boat ramps.
Freedom Board tells citizens group it doesn’t see a demand for online meeting minutes and questions true cost of expanding the town site.
Conservation Commission says 70% of funds are in hand after a year of work, but another $65,000 must be raised before the April 1 purchase deadline.
Donald Bossi issues a public letter asking why Freedom officials are paying for a Supreme Court appeal in a case that has already been decided by the court system twice.
Snug on Broad Bay, Bob Smart takes the measure of winter in frigid temperatures, deep snow and a water level rising under the ice.
Conway Daily Sun columnist Ed Parsons finds courtesy and good humor among the sledders he encounters on the way to the top of Mt. Shaw in the Ossipee Range.
It was mainly a year of welcome news on the lake. But then there were the stories that, like the bad penny of legend, just kept coming back.
Babb tells Zoning Board it did “a good job in its decision and process” despite last month’s defeat in Superior Court. Town will argue the case alone, with marina owner Kevin Price not participating.
Misleading legislation didn’t do the trick and neither did an estimated $10 million in legal fees. An editorial in the Carroll County Independent says it’s time for CMI to face facts and find another place for its racetrack.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway, which chugs up the side of New England’s tallest peak, has been called the Railway to the Moon. Some people have been taking that title a bit too literally.
Judge overrules the Freedom Zoning Board’s approval of a special exception for unlimited boat storage, saying it is the same use the Board denied in 2002.
Eagles, beavers and bullfrog tadpoles are among the sightings as Sun columnist Parsons takes a leisurely kayak trip down the Bearcamp to the lake during the quiet season.
Carroll County Independent editor Terry Leavitt says goodbye to readers in a final editorial, and the Alliance says thanks for a job well done.
The Whittier Covered Bridge in West Ossipee is among the state properties selected for the “Seven to Save” list by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. The needs of the sites selected range from structural restoration to planning for reuse or transfer of ownership.
You can view it online thanks to local businessman John Rowe. The Tamworth native is one of the owners of Canoe King, which has been renting and selling canoes, kayaks and paddle gear on Route 16 for 30 years.
After a long summer season of well-controlled water depth for Ossipee Lake, the fall/winter drawdown started last Wednesday. Level was holding at 407.25 for many weeks with half a gate open, the weather was warm and the boats were active.
Plans for three box stores being proposed near the intersection of Route 16 and 28 in Ossipee have been shelved. Lori Murphy, who works for Konover Development Corporation, said the company no longer has plans for a project in Ossipee.
Kevin Price of Ossipee Lake Marina has told the Ossipee Planning Board he has been unable to find a dealer for his ten-acre property near Boulder Hill. The planners gave him a variance for the sales and storage project in 2003 contingent on it being finished in five years.
Crowd applause greeted a latest Club Motorsports Inc. defeat late Wednesday, as the controversial racecourse builder absorbed another rejection by town officials of its plans to develop Mount Whittier.
Florence Aileen Curry Small is a name people in Ossipee ought to know and remember. The victim of a notorious murder in 1916, Small’s body lay in an unmarked grave in Grant Hill Cemetery in Center Ossipee for more than 90 years.
Alliance applauds boaters for cooperating with the state’s new shoreline restrictions for Ossipee Lake Natural Area. Says DRED needs to start work on its property management plan now.
Faced with a raft of oversized home renovations, particularly along its southern lakes and ponds, New Hampshire is reaching out to educate local officials as it prepares to implement a new set of shoreline construction restrictions.
All children under age 13 must wear a lifejacket on all boats. This includes canoes, kayaks and sailboats, as well as all rentals.
Ossipee Lake and the Ossipee River are among anglers’ favorite spots.
Zoning officer assesses $275, promises more fines if violations continue.
Newspaper editorial says Natural Area decision has been a long time coming.
Selectmen say the approval is improper and should be appealed.
Representative Merrow says he has no objection to the shoreline restrictions.
The closure will begin on Friday August 24th and will remain in effect while a management plan for the property is written and implemented prior to the summer of 2008.
Firing a salvo at state officials, Long Sands Association president George Eisener has written a public letter to area newspapers saying New Hampshire landowners should think twice before selling property to the State agency DRED.
Water level in Ossipee Lake is now at the target level of 407.25′ above sea level.
Barry Hill, an Ossipee business owner who spent much of his time researching and writing about local history, died on July 21 after a brief illness. He and his wife, Susan, have lived on Ossipee Lake since 1996.
The Department of Safety warned boaters to slow down on Lake Winnipesaukee this summer, when a pilot program would allow Marine Patrol officers to enforce speed limits on two busy sections of the lake.
How this one-time steamboat landing on Caddo Lake got its name is, well, uncertain — as uncertain as the fate that now clouds this natural wonder, often called the state’s only honest lake.
Center Ossipee resident seeks boaters who witnessed a jet-skier harassing loons and geese near Indian Mound.
New weeds in Danforth Bay will be dispatched by professional diving team.
Editorial says boaters need to take time to learn about the problem plant.
Presentations and instructional boat rides are among the day’s events.
Tales of Ossipee Lake event will benefit the “Window on Ossipee Mountains” project.
Attorney says lake property owner Donald Lee has not complied with last year’s court order.
Conservation Commission is seeking contributions to keep town boat ramp staffed this summer.
Sun columnist contemplates the contrasting fates of two gems: Copp’s Pond and Long Sands Natural Area.
Effingham conservationists say it’s time for DRED to take a realistic look at the options.
Ossipee Conservation Commission tells DRED enforcement and managment plan should be next steps to protect the Natural Area.
Cupka and Brown reverse “strongly environmental position” taken by town in 2005.
General state regulations have been posted while the agency works on an overall management plan for the property.
CMI will be back in town for a June hearing.
Selectmen’s rep votes against it, and abutter says the board ignored the law.
Lake level continues to fluctuate in advance of Memorial Day weekend.
As of noon Saturday, the water level has approximately reached the summer level of 407.25′.
Alliance press statement says the agency’s presentation last weekend left out key facts.
DRED will confront a long-building dissatisfaction with its leadership on and off the water.
Selectmen agree to borrow money to fix damaged roads.
The Alliance says the public wants the Natural Area situation addressed this summer.
Alliance says survey responses highlight need for state leadership.
There’s high water from big lake to bays from this week’s storm.
Ossipee is especially hard-hit by powerful nor’easter.
$20 fees would support education and lake preservation.
Sometimes you have to go looking for spring.
A bill that could have affected the town property in Freedom has passed the house and will move to the senate to be voted on soon.
A long wait for a ruling from the state Supreme Court is holding up two legal actions in a grueling battle over plans for a first-in-the-region racetrack on Mount Whittier.
Anne Cunningham and Ralph Kazanjian came out on top in the lone contested race in Freedom Tuesday, winning three-year seats on the planning board.
Critics warned yesterday that continuing to include the “view tax” component in property assessments will fragment the state and destroy its rural character.
With the 2007 legislative session under way, bills affecting the state’s lakes are making their way through the committee process.
During a zoning board of adjustment meeting in January, members voted to approve a request for a special exception to store more boats outside at the marina.
The Ossipee Pine Barrens, a globally rare habitat for uncommon birds and insects that overlays a critically important aquifer, has moved one step closer to protection.
Supporters of limiting boat speeds on New Hampshire lakes are more optimistic about success given the new makeup of the state Legislature.
The fun part of the real winter arrived on Valentine’s Day.
The parents of slain Freedom vacation home owner Michael Zammitti Jr. successfully asked a judge last year to place a $2.5 million attachment on the home of their son’s accused killer, Sean Fitzpatrick.
The fire that destroyed the vacant home of jailed double murder suspect Sean Fitzpatrick Monday night has been declared arson, authorities announced Wednesday.
A Freedom lake home owned by a man on trial in Massachusetts for a double murder burned to the ground Monday night, leaving authorities here piecing together suspicious circumstances surrounding a neighborhood love triangle that turned deadly last spring.
In a letter to local newspapers, former Freedom zoning official Donald Bossi said last week’s ZBA decision to approve increased boat storage at Ossipee Lake Marina is “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.”
Few souls roamed the normally busy byways of Ossipee, N.H., earlier this month, as 65-degree temperatures and a complete lack of snow beset this mountainous, lake-rich territory near the Maine border.
The Freedom Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved the request for a special exception to Kevin Price and the Ossipee Lake Marina on Tuesday night allowing the business to store nearly four times as many boats outside.
Freedom — January 23, 2007 — Freedom Zoning Board is expected to decide Tuesday whether or not Ossipee Lake Marina can expand its storage of customers’ boats. Principal marina owner Kevin Price’s application for unlimited winter boat storage on part of his property has already been reviewed by the board, twice. The last review was [...]
What will the future of Ossipee Lake be? Who should help shape that future? What programs are needed to ensure the lake’s long-term protection?
Curious about what happened at the selectmen’s meeting last week? Wonder what the tax rate is or what the master plan says?
The proposed expansion of Ossipee Lake Marina has State officials and local environmental groups worried about the impact on milfoil, boat traffic and the Ossipee aquifer.
Selectmen plan to put an article on the town warrant in March for the preliminary work to stabilize the Whittier Covered Bridge, buying time for the town to find money for a much more extensive rehabilitation that would save the rotting structure.
Club Motorsports Inc. kicked up another round of quarreling and head scratching in town last week when the developer handed over a new set of plans for apparently little more than a road up a hill.
In the withdrawal letter, the club indicated it planned to resubmit the application at a later date.
Tonight was the turning point from a liquid to a solid on much of the Ossipee Lake/Bays surfaces.
Sharleen and Robert Houle submitted an application for subdivision on two lots they own on West Bay Road in order to create a condominium of the five cabins that are there now.
The owner of Camp Robin Hood received an approved site plan review from the Freedom Planning Board to renovate an existing building on the property as well as construct a new building.
Looking back three years, the reeling racetrack developer seems further than ever from an early promise to investors to succeed where other would-be track builders have failed.
The days of obtaining a certificate by passing the test online are numbered.
Freedom Zoning Board continued its review of Ossipee Lake Marina’s proposed boat storage expansion to January, claiming that Fire Chief Gene Doe’s input is crucial to the decision.
The latest legal action adds fuel to a long-drawn firestorm of controversy in this small rural hotbed of politics, where feuding between neighbors, much of it over development, has become all-too-commonplace.
The Executive Council approved two more “dug-in” boathouses on Lake Winnipesaukee yesterday, resurrecting the debate over the controversial practice.
Ossipee Lake Marina will be back before Freedom’s Zoning Board of Adjustment on Tuesday, December 12 to seek approval to store more boats on its Broad Bay property.
Is the wild Ossipee Range an appropriate place to build a private racetrack?
Like many conservation projects, this one began when a single community member encountered a “For Sale” sign on a much-loved property.
Ossipee Lake Marina withdrew its application for a boat-wash facility before the Freedom Zoning Board of Adjustment put off discussing other marina requests until December.
The boathouse issue has stoked controversy.
Ossipee Lake Marina will seek permission to expand its business, revisiting longtime conflicts with the marina’s residential neighbors.
The Department of Fish and Game, which is expected to be self-supporting, is almost broke.
The public notice about the hearing states that the Marina is seeking approval to store an unlimited number of boats on the property, and wants town approval to use adjacent Alvino Road for customer traffic to provide access to a boat washing facility to be built on what is known as residential Lot 42.
The overall public sentiment was that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) should not be allowed on the Trout Pond property, despite applicants saying the activity would be monitored and low-impact.
Ronnie Burrell has been hunting ducks for about 70 years, but his hearing shows the strain of a lifetime spent working around B-29′s, woodsaws and shotguns, so he is less likely to hear birds flush out of the marsh, and therefore is less likely to shoot.
In a bid to ward off a $5 million shortfall for the upcoming two-year budget, the Fish and Game Department wants to impose more user fees and take a portion of the state’s rooms and meals tax.
The circular Ossipee Range is 65 square miles of forested hills, nine miles in diameter. It is exceptionally unique.
At a meeting Wednesday night, five members of the Tamworth Planning Board voted to deny a Special Use Permit to Club Motorsports Inc (CMI), which wants to build a private three-mile racetrack for fast cars and motorcycles on the north face of Mt. Whittier.
In election results reported by the Conway Daily Sun, Sandwich Democrats Howard Cunningham and Virginia Heard have beaten Ossipee Republican incumbents David Babson and Mark McConkey as District 3 State Representatives.
Freedom’s Forest Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, November 9th to consider an application by West Ossipee-based Valley Trails Association to open the Town Forest for ATVs.
A weevil that has a taste for Eurasian milfoil doesn’t like the species of the invasive aquatic plant found in New Hampshire and Maine lakes.
Ossipee’s tax rate is up 10 to 15 percent from last year, depending on the precinct.
Experienced strong winds and 2.25″ of rain during the last several days. No obvious wind damage in our area or the area from here north and east. Have not traveled the other directions since Thursday.
Ending a painfully long and expensive civil lawsuit revealing the ability of one man to long defy state wetlands rules, a judge ruled in favor of an Ossipee Lake housing association seething that their “steadfast” neighbor turned their cozy cove into a “toilet.”
The Freedom Zoning Board of Adjustment has postponed consideration of an application by Ossipee Lake Marina to expand boat storage and use Alvino Road for customer traffic.
George Eisener wants the gated entrance to Constitution Park in Long Sands development to be locked.
n a joint meeting, the selectmen and members of the Freedom Conservation Commission (FCC) and the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) discussed the issue of ultimate authority over the town’s forest.
Ossipee Lake Marina has asked the Freedom Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for approval to store an unlimited number of boats and trailers outdoors and to use adjacent Alvino Road to funnel traffic to a proposed boat washing facility.
Selectman Jim Breslin has been asked to step down as selectman’s representative to the Forest Advisory Committee recently.
nvironmental groups, lakefront homeowners, worried citizens and town conservation boards mobilized in force Tuesday night for a public hearing where the majority of speakers pleaded with local planning officials to deny a building permit to Club Motorsports Inc.
Tamworth — October 11, 2006 — An appeal to overturn an Army Corps of Engineers permit for a proposed racetrack on the Tamworth-West Ossipee border has been filed in U.S. District Court in Concord. The appeal, filed by Focus Tamworth along with the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and more than 80 other abutters and [...]
As the town scrambles to dredge up cash to slap a band aid on an ailing historic landmark before first snowfall, three folks from the sunny South last week offered to buy it, tear it down and haul it back home, officials said.
The days of obtaining a certificate by passing the test online are numbered. Starting New Year’s Day, anyone who doesn’t already have a certificate must take a monitored exam at a testing center.
A lake group and a local historian are calling on history bugs to scour area annals and the brains of locals with long memories in hopes of filling a tome on the area’s marquee attraction, Ossipee Lake.
Freedom selectmen voted Monday night not to remove Theresa Swanick from her position on Freedom Conservation Commission.
Months after the Legislature killed a proposal to put a speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee and other lakes in the state, dozens of people packed the Meredith Community Center yesterday to debate the issue again.
Freedom’s Selectmen voted to unseal the minutes of the non-public session the board had last week with attorney Deborah Fauver and Conservation Commissioner Theresa Swanick.
Ossipee Lake Alliance and Ossipee historian Barry Hill have announced the start of a multi-year research project they hope will result in the publication of a book on the history of Ossipee Lake.
After meeting with Conservation Commissioner Theresa Swanick in non-public session for about 45 minutes Freedom’s Selectmen decided to go ahead with a public hearing on her removal from the commission.
Fifteen acres of a rare habitat will burn later this month, as conservation workers use fire to preserve the unique Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve.
Katie Gove will step down from her position as chairman of the Freedom Forest Advisory Committee, and hopes that committee member Peter Schiller will take her place.
The town’s cherished covered bridge was called a faltering health and safety hazard and will be entirely closed off from the public behind a wooden stockade fence.
Freedom selectmen have decided to take the position that the selectmen, conservation commissioners and Freedom Forest Advisory Committee should manage the Trout Pond property along the guidelines set out by selectmen’s attorneys Peter Malia and David Hastings.
Who really is in charge of managing the Trout Pond Property?
The beach at Long Sands is safe, said selectman’s chair Harry Merrow. Merrow had asked the N.H. Department of Environmental Services to test the water for E. coli, a marker for potential disease-causing germs in water.
Officials are asking boaters to be wary of flags signaling divers are toiling in the depths of Ossipee Lake.
Madison has scaled back its no-exception wash-before-you-launch anti-milfoil rule to ease the burden on kayakers and canoeists, while officials hope the new distinction will not leave motor boaters all wet.
The Green Mountain Conservation Group will host a Wetlands Forum on August 30th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Runnells Hall in Chocorua to provide information for the public on wetlands protection.
Ossipee’s selectmen this week approved a new round of milfoil removal in Phillips Brook and the area where it enters Leavitt Bay.
State Environmental Services Commissioner Michael Nolin says he is passionate about his job and can continue working well with Gov. John Lynch, even though Lynch has nominated someone to replace him.
While talk of putting a town beach on Ossipee Lake has died down, complaints about the way boaters use the beach at Long Sands continue.
Diver Cliff Cabral and Susan Marks of Ossipee Lake Alliance met with selectmen at the board’s meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the status of milfoil eradication on Ossipee Lake, and plans for this year’s project of pulling the weed.
From the birds of Ossipee Lake to the alpine flowers of Mount Washington, naturalist-photographer Chris Lewey has spent years documenting the arrival of summer in New Hampshire’s north country.
Nearly two years to the day since Club Motorsports Inc. pulled its application from a local review board, the Derry developer will return to Tamworth next month to ask for permission to build its massively contentious high-performance driving club.
Paul Corbin, the president of the Totem Pole Association on Pequawket Trail, came to the planning board Thursday, July 20 for a preliminary discussion about changing the schedule of winter operations.
A Marine Patrol crackdown on unregistered individual moorings this week has some Ossipee Lake boaters scrambling to comply with the state’s mooring law.
With a theme of “Wildlife in the Watershed,” the weekend will feature speakers, exhibits, crafts and entertainment.
They’re the outcasts of the animal world: the ones that slither, the ones that smell and the ones that swoop through the night in the dark.
Looking to the future and the well-being of Ossipee Lake, zoning enforcement officer Ned Hatfield asked the selectmen for their support for a project that has been on his mind for a while.
The Nature Conservancy is in the final stages of a risky $3.8 million plan to save a rare habitat, racing against developers in their purchase of valuable properties.
A Sea-Doo explosion at the Ossipee Lake Marina in Freedom left two people with second-degree burns.
Peter Malia, the town’s attorney, said in the letter that the lot has not become a commercial lot, even though it has been merged with the marina’s lots.
Now that the Sunday evening rain and thunderstorm have moved north, I can turn on the computer and provide the good news that Ossipee Lake Level has been going down since Wednesday.
Off-and-on showers Tuesday didn’t add up to any substantial flooding in Carroll County, although officials warned that heavier sustained rains could spell trouble with surging rivers and a full-to-the-rim Ossipee Lake.
At 8:30 this morning, Steve Doyen at the state posted a notice on the web that three more gates will be opened at 9 AM.
Selectmen approved abatements for all the property owners on Long Sands Road at the weekly board meeting Monday night.
Mount Shaw, 2,990 feet, is the highest mountain in the circular Ossipee Range. For many years, the rustic 3.5-mile Mount Shaw Trail has been ascended by hikers from Route 171 in Tuftonboro.
After a steady but slow drop in the lake level during the last half of April, the dam was closed last Sunday afternoon.
As members of Freedom’s Zoning Board of Adjustment who participated in the Ossipee Lake Marina decisions, we want to comment on the current situation.
Boaters entering Ossipee Lake using the Ossipee town ramp will be greeted by a Lake Host this summer, thanks to a New Hampshire Lakes Association grant that was awarded last week to the Ossipee Conservation Commission.
The spring thaw of the lake was uneventful and to some degree, boring and therefore little or no damage.
Ossipee Lake Alliance’s Board of Directors has issued a letter refuting a public statement by Freedom Selectman Les Babb that an official of the lake organization told him the group intended to “shut down” Ossipee Lake Marina.
Selectmen have sent a letter to Ossipee Lake Marina owner Kevin Price asking him to correct alleged zoning violations, including storing too many boats on the property.
Responding to complaints by zoning officials and other members of the public, Freedom’s Board of Selectmen have put Ossipee Lake Marina on the agenda for discussion this Monday night, March 20th, at 7:30 PM.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Freedom — March 2, 2006 — Ossipee Lake Alliance has sent a letter to more than three dozen past and present members of Freedom’s Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) asking them to intercede with the Board of Selectmen over zoning violations at Ossipee Lake Marina. The letter, which was signed by Alliance [...]
The House will vote Mar. 7 on three bills to control milfoil and other invasive lake weeds in a war the tourist industry hopes to win.
Although a bill to impose speed limits of 45 mph during the day and 25 mph at night on the state’s lakes and rivers passed the House by a substantial margin three weeks ago, supporters and opponents showed up in large numbers yesterday for a fight neither side considers finished.
Selectman and state Rep. Harry Merrow is backing away from his plan to create a new town beach at Long Sands on Ossipee Lake — at least for the present.
Nearly two thirds of voters in New Hampshire support creating a statewide boating speed limit, according to a poll released yesterday.
In a written statement submitted at last night’s Ossipee Selectmen’s meeting, Harry Merrow recommended that the town cancel the second phase of the botanical study of Ossipee Lake Natural Area.
The House yesterday approved a 45 mph daytime speed limit and a 25 mph nighttime limit for boats on the state’s lakes and rivers.
Gov. John Lynch announced yesterday that he will ask George Bald, who led the Department of Resources and Economic from 1998 to 2004, to come back to the department as its next commissioner.
Appraiser David Wiley has recommended to selectmen that they drop the assessed values for properties in Long Sands Association by $75,000 across the board.
Sean O’Kane, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) will leave the agency when his term expires at the end of March.
Harry Merrow, a selectman and state legislator who owns hundreds of acres in town, is planning to sell off about 28 acres on Route 16 to a major New England mall builder.
State officials have told Ossipee Lake Alliance there is no basis in fact to statements that White Lake State Park turns away visitors or that the Marine Patrol opposes swimming at Constitution Park Beach.
John Bouzoun’s hilltop home here has two bedrooms; two bathrooms and a barn. The retiree thought the place was fairly modest, but according to a recent assessment by the town, his “little dream house” is worth a half-million dollars.
A cutting-edge milfoil ordinance could hit the books Tuesday, when selectmen sign a reportedly first-in-the-state order levying stiff fines to boaters who skip out on a free boat wash.
It’s a shame to see the damage that has been done at Constitution Park in Ossipee. Over the years that damage has included willful vandalism of interpretive signs set up on trails to help people understand and appreciate the nature around them.
The Ossipee Lake shoreline harbors many uncommon species due to its similarities to the coastal, sandy regions to the south and east.
A state ban on the use of lead tackle for freshwater fishing has failed to reduce the number of loons that die from ingesting the sinkers and jigs each year, Fish and Game Department officials said.
The top story in Ossipee this year, in terms of the amount of interest it has generated from townspeople, has been the proposed beach at Long Sands, a state owned natural area on Ossipee Lake.
When we last talked at the end of October, the water level was at 408.1′ and the ark had grounded.
New Hampshire lawmakers will decide in January whether to impose speed limits on all bodies of water in the state — from Lake Winnipesaukee to Conway Lake.
Ossipee Lake Alliance says the initial study of natural resources at Long Sands shows that the proposed site for a new town beach for Ossipee does in fact have rare plants and significant plant communities that need to be protected.
he company looking to build a $28 million private driving club for high-performance cars is mulling its options a week after being ordered by a judge to apply for a town wetlands permit.
Lakefront homeowners, upset that soaring land assessments are driving tax bills out of reach of some retirees, were told Monday to apply for tax abatements.
The Ossipee-funded botanical report has been released and the results are clear: Ossipee Lake Natural Area remains as unique as previous research has shown.
Jean Hansen runs a web-based stencil design business. George Eisener is a builder. The two hard-driving entrepreneurs live on a desirable road in a part of town that has seen its lakefront land values explode in recent years.
Selectman Harry Merrow released the state report on natural resources at Long Sands and said that at this time those results are inconclusive.
The latest botanical study of Ossipee Lake Natural Area shows that the proposed location of a town beach contains five natural communities, four of which are rare in New Hampshire and one of which is the only known example of its type in the state.
When New Hampshire turned its back on the GOP in last year’s presidential election and supported Democrat John F. Kerry, political pundits wondered whether the once crimson Republican state was changing its hue.
Lakefront tax hikes are driving full-time residents off the water, selectmen and an Ossipee Lake area homeowners’ representative said Monday.
pponents of a plan to create a public beach on Ossipee Lake won a small victory at town hall Monday, when selectmen agreed to let them post photographs on a bulletin board.
Selectmen offered little response Monday to a Long Sands Road resident’s complaint that the board editorialized on a divisive public beach battle when a selectman posted a one-sided commentary at town hall.
McLean says the two main requirements of any agreement are patience, as the process is likely to take some time, and a willingness on the part of the town to help the state oversee the entire 400-acre wetland preserve, not just the 600 feet of beach it wants to lease.
October, 2005 has been a month of tricks and treats for water level of Ossipee Lake.
Club Motorsports Inc., announcing details of how it plans to operate a 3.1-mile amateur racetrack and driving club on 250 acres of Mount Whittier, plans to ask the town to consider easing its restrictions on noise.
A committee of lawmakers has narrowly recommended speed limits for Lake Winnipesaukee and all of the state’s lakes and rivers.
The state has recorded the results of the first of two studies made by the Nature Conservancy of rare plants and flowers at a waterfront swamp on Ossipee Lake.
To get a perspective on a place like Ossipee Lake Natural Area, there’s nothing like exploring it with a biologist – especially if it’s Barre Hellquist, the long-time lake resident and co-author of “Aquatic and Wetland Plants of North America,” the definitive textbook on the subject.
As debate over the proposal to create a new town beach on Ossipee Lake continues, members of Ossipee Lake Alliance and others have raised the question of whether the people of Ossipee need another town beach.
Angry waters are back under the Route 153 bridge in Freedom, all because of heavy rain Friday night, Saturday and Sunday morning.
David Smith, executive director of Ossipee Lake Alliance, has written a letter to Sean O’Kane, commissioner of the N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development, questioning the town’s need for another beach on Ossipee Lake, particularly one that will use state land at Long Sands.
Meeting for the first time since the last public hearing in Gilford, the Recreation, Resource and Development Committee for the state’s House of Representatives held a work session on Tuesday, September 27.
President of the Totem Pole Park Association, Paul Corbin, asked the board of selectmen to work together with the association.
In your September 8th issue Harry Merrow is correct to highlight the ongoing destruction of Ossipee Lake Natural Area by boaters, but wrong to point at others for not doing something about it.
As of today the drawdown of Ossipee Lake is almost complete.
Responding to what he said were misleading statements in a news release by the Ossipee Lake Alliance, Selectman Harry Merrow on Monday said three of four town beaches are too small, and the town’s one larger beach gets plenty of use.
Freedom’s Planning Board will not try to revoke a year-old agreement with Totem Pole Park that allows campers to stay 11 months on the condition that two alleged violators of the agreement come into compliance by properly registering their motor vehicles.
eeping the pressure on state and local officials to reject plans for a public beach on Ossipee Lake, a lakeside homeowners’ group wrote the state’s top development official that a beach at Long Sands is “not in the best interest of the lake or the people of the state.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Freedom — September 16, 2005 — Ossipee Lake Alliance has called on the state agency DRED to suspend its negotiations to subdivide Ossipee Lake Natural Area for a beach, calling the plan “not in the best interest of the lake or the people of the state.” In a letter to DRED Commissioner [...]
Selectman Harry Merrow questions how people can see the proposed town beach on Ossipee Lake as something that will disturb or threaten natural and historic resources, since the beach has been a hub of activity on the lake each summer for years.
Lake level is on target at 406.81′ feet Sunday evening. By Monday morning it should be down about 6″ below standard height of 407.25′ – just what Steve at the N.H. Dam authority had predicted.
A meeting of the Freedom Planning Board will be field on Thursday, September 15, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the Freedom Town Hall.
Selectman Jim Breslin violated the privacy rights of Totem Pole Park residents by reading a list of names at a public meeting of people he says registered their cars at town hall in violation of an agreement between the town and campground, charges the campground’s lawyer.
Bill Fortier of Nichols Road came in to talk with the Selectmen [last week] about an access to Ossipee Lake off Nichols Road Extension.
If selectmen can iron out a contract with The Nature Conservancy this week, the board could jump on the group’s $2,500 bid to survey rare plants at the proposed site of an Ossipee Lake public beach.
After an announcement of an early drawdown this year reportedly caused panic among some boaters, state and local officials will sit down and talk about how best to lower Ossipee Lake in the future.
Ossipee has the potential to be a premier snowmobiling destination, but it needs more trails and volunteers, says a local man who hopes to lay 15 miles of new trail from Ossipee Lake to Effingham.
The Town of Freedom is updating its Master Plan, which was originally written in 1987 and last updated in 1992.
A new project directed by the University of New Hampshire is attempting to determine whether biological agents found in the upper Midwest may be of some help in controlling variable milfoil in New Hampshire.
What we hope to do is keep the lake at its full level (elev. 407.25) right through the Labor Day weekend.
Frustrated that Totem Pole Park residents are registering their cars at town hall in violation of a one-year-old agreement that allows campers to stay 11 months, the planning board unanimously decided to hold a public hearing, a necessary first step to revoking it.
After viewing Long Sands beach with officials from the town and state, Selectman Harry Merrow reported that the group had identified the location for the proposed town beach, and agreed on a course of action to look for rare plants there.
Ossipee could spend as much as $4,000 as soon as September on a rare plants survey as part of development of an Ossipee Lake public beach.
A long-awaited decision by the Freedom Planning Board on how long Totem Pole Park can remain open during the year will come one step closer after Thursday’s board meeting.
Responding to the growing controversy over Ossipee’s proposed development of state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area as a beach, Ossipee Lake Alliance today announced its opposition to the plan while also offering to help the town find an alternate location on the lake.
How much will it cost Ossipee taxpayers to pursue a beach in state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area?
That was the topic at Monday night’s selectmen’s meeting when a group of Ossipee property owners appeared with a list of questions.
Boaters who refuse to submit to milfoil checks and boat washes at the town boat ramp could face stiff fines—$1,000 or more—under a proposed ordinance under review by selectmen.
You’ve read about him in magazines and seen him on TV. Now you can meet New Hampshire naturalist and writer Ben Kilham in person.
Officials have identified a resurgence of milfoil in Phillips Brook, about a month after divers stripped truckloads of the invasive weed by hand from Ossipee Lake.
Ossipee selectmen are undeterred by warnings from state preservation officials that taxpayers could spend thousands on environmental research, and end up without a public beach.
Ossipee’s next steps in its plan to build a town beach in state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area remain unclear after the selectmen met yesterday at their regularly scheduled board meeting.
To increase the public’s awareness of that distinction, Ossipee Lake Alliance has expanded its website to include a section on the lake’s unique features.
Annual drawdown in the water level of Ossipee Lake will begin on Tuesday, September 6, instead of the normal Columbus Day date, according to New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Artifacts 3,000 to 8,000 years old are sitting at what could be the future site of a town beach on Ossipee Lake, state preservation officials confirmed Monday.
A Londonderry teen died Monday afternoon after being pulled out of the fish pond at Totem Pole Campground in Freedom.
A new pamphlet that is available in dozens of area locations will help reinforce the message that boaters need to inspect their watercraft each time they enter or leave Ossipee Lake.
Mother Nature is playing with Ossipee Lake again.
In the latest move surrounding Ossipee’s determination to build a town beach in state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area, Selectman and State Representative Harry Merrow says he is considering filing legislation to limit the law protecting the state’s archeological sites from vandalism and treasure-hunters.
This Monday night, July 18th, representatives from the state will detail the studies and plans that Ossipee officials must pay for and complete before the state can rule on the feasibility of a town beach in state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area.
Love handmade quilts? Now you have a chance to win one of three of them in a raffle that will benefit an important local cause.
At the beginning of a public meeting last night to discuss a proposed speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee, Rep. Dave Currier asked speakers to stick to the topic.
No picketers. No handmade signs. No angry voices. Aside from the parking lot full of pickup trucks and sports cars, you’d almost never know nearly 300 people turned out last night to debate a proposed speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee.
All New Hampshire lakes and ponds ten acres and larger are owned by the public and are held in the Public Trust for the use and enjoyment of current and future generations.
Islands that move, rocks that float, and the year you could walk the channel to Broad Bay are among Ossipee Lake’s natural and unnatural phenomena that noted educator Barre Hellquist will present at Calumet Conference Center.
Marc Bourgeois hardly ever drives his boat as fast as it can go. But on a clear, calm morning on a nearly empty Lake Winnipesaukee, he finds no harm in showing passengers a little bit of what it can do.
Commercial divers waded into murky Phillips Brook Tuesday and ripped the first milfoil plant from the Ossipee Lake tributary’s weed-ridden beds.
As of Monday, the town of Freedom is the official owner of a 2,660-acre forest that adjoins two other parcels of land, creating about 5,300 acres of protected woods on the Freedom-Madison town line.
The spread of invasive plants and animals in our lakes is an issue that affects everyone who lives in Northern New Hampshire.
Will the selectmen and planning board act to revoke the town’s 2004 agreement with the residents of Totem Pole Park?
The Ossipee Lake water level roller coaster ride continues, and Steve at the State Dam Bureau plus the Ossipee Lake Dam authority are planning and doing all they can to slow down the ride to 407.25 feet above sea level for the next three months.
The grassroots group that fueled Howard Dean’s failed presidential run two years ago may launch an ethics probe into donations made to conservative state senators by Club Motorsports Inc., a representative from the group said Thursday.
Despite strong testimony by state Sen. Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, Thursday HB 90 failed to pass the N.H. Senate by a 14-10 margin.
My last report on 4/07/05 gave an estimated lake level of 409′ above sea level. Subsequently I received the official Broad Bay reading of 409.5′ from Chuck Depew. This was 4 days after the last rain.
Owners and managers of Ossipee Lake’s boat ramps last weekend took the first steps in an ambitious multi-year effort to prevent milfoil from entering or leaving the lake on boats and trailers at more than 30 access points.
Before Ossipee can get a town beach, there are a few things they have to do first.
The N.H. House Wednesday resoundingly passed an amended version of HB 90, drafted by Carroll County representatives to repeal the racetrack law that stripped away local control over the course planned for Tamworth’s Mount Whittier.
Conditions are about the same as Tuesday except the level is dropping at about the same rate as the slow leak in my boat trailer tire.
Just finished a conversation with Chuck DePew, who has an accurate reference point at 407′.
I was down on my path to the lake around noon today. Water is high enough that I can not get onto the beach or platform for dock ramp.
The lake has been at its normal winter low since the flood of December went down the river.
Owners of the lake’s boat ramps will receive help in preventing new milfoil infestations when Ossipee Lake Alliance launches its Exotic Species Prevention Program this month.
The House Municipal and County Government Committee on Tuesday voted 14-5 to kill legislation that would repeal the controversial racetrack bill which robbed Tamworth of control over the motorsports park planned for Mount Whittier.
Voters at the annual town meeting gave selectmen the go ahead to pursue a town beach on Ossipee Lake.
After a lively discussion on the merits of constructing a town beach on State-owned property in Ossipee Lake Natural Area, Ossipee voters authorized the Selectmen to spend $20,000 of the town’s money for “construction to the land” at the site, contingent on the town first obtaining a lease on the property for no more than $100 annually.
Joseph Skehan, Jr. has won the four-way race for the Ossipee Selectman’s position being vacated by Joseph Chromy.
While some people see the Lone Pine area of Ossipee Lake as a perfect location for a new town beach, others are concerned that creating a new recreational area there would threaten natural and historical resources in the area.
What do the candidates for Ossipee Selectman think about lake issues, and what would they do if they are elected?
Ossipee Lake Alliance has distributed a survey that will give candidates running for Ossipee Selectman the opportunity to make their opinions known about important lake issues they are likely to face if elected.
The popular summer pastime of “rafting” – boating’s equivalent of a tailgate party – on the state’s lakes would be banned by a bill before the state Senate. Rafting is when boats congregate on the water, sometimes involving as many as 150 boats.
Ossipee’s Selectmen have agreed to accept the State’s offer to split the cost of a program in which invasive variable milfoil will be hand-pulled from Leavitt Bay and Phillips Brook by professional divers this spring.
Two public hearings are expected to be jammed on a House bill that would repeal the now infamous SB 458, the state law that allowed developers of a proposed driving track to skirt a local ordinance which would have restricted its operation.
N.H. Department of Environmental Services has plunged in on a pilot plan to hand-pick invasive milfoil in Leavitt Bay, according to a group of Ossipee lake property owners and environmentalists.
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has agreed to provide State funds toward the cost of having professional divers remove the milfoil that has infested Phillips Brook and Leavitt Bay.
During what turned out to be a three-hour meeting, the Zoning Board of Adjustment agreed to grant Bob Hoyt of Purity Springs a special exception to the zoning regulations.
The Nature Conservancy continues its efforts to protect the Ossipee Pine Barrens, a globally rare ecosystem and important habitat for birds and rare moths.
The petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief was filed by lawyers for Focus: Tamworth on behalf of forty-six Tamworth residents and taxpayers.
In what may be a repeat of last year’s events, a series of significant late season rainstorms has increased the lake to a flood level when it should be at its lowest to accommodate winter ice.
The logic is inescapable: unless state funding is increased, the more that milfoil spreads in Ossipee Lake, the more that local communities will have to pay to control it.
Selectmen in Ossipee listened to a proposal to use divers to clear milfoil out of Ossipee Lake, but made no decisions about the matter at the board’s meeting Monday night.
A controversial agreement that prohibits owners in a recreational vehicle park from becoming residents may be in tatters when five seasonal residents exercised their right to vote Tuesday, after the the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office intervened.
Merrow has been working with the director of the N.H. Department of Parks and Recreation to lease a portion of the state land at Long Sands to have as a beach for the people of Ossipee.
It’s a dirty job to root out milfoil at Danforth Pond, but somebody has to do it.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will now be sifting through the information it has received and determining whether or not to issue a permit.
Sen. Joe Kenney defended his voting record last week, a record his Democratic challenger claims is twice-scarred by his support of a bill that gutted Tamworth’s control over a proposed racetrack and one that caused health insurance premiums to spike for some people.
Ultimately the Conservancy will use carefully prescribed burns in this pine barrens ecosystem that has depended upon fire for its maintenance and regeneration for thousands of years.
Professional divers have been hired to hand-pull milfoil from Danforth Brook to upper Danforth Pond, and volunteers are needed to work from boats to assist them.
The town of Freedom, working with Ossipee Lake Alliance, has hired a crew of divers to come in and clean out the variable milfoil from the Freedom section of Ossipee Lake.
Ossipee Lake Alliance has asked the United States Army Corps. of Engineers (ACoE) to determine whether noise and lights from the proposed racetrack on Mount Whittier will adversely affect Ossipee Lake property owners.
The attorney general’s office is reviewing a state law to determine whether voting rights of campers at a Freedom recreational vehicle park can be restricted by the town.
“They better bring the local boys on board,” advised Sen. John Gallus to state representatives Harry Merrow and David Babson if they are to be successful in repealing SB 458.
In the letter, Madison Board of Selectmen chairman John Arruda says his Board has a need “to address [the] concerns brought forward by our citizens.”
Long-time lake resident is Professor Emeritus of biology at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts.
A condition to restrict wells added to a sub-division approval to allow overnight use of sites from six to eleven months has prompted six Freedom residents to consult a lawyer.
In the summer of 1987, the Totem Pole Campground consisting of 457 lots on 90 acres was sold from Arthur Bolduc to Cerasamo Lumber and Development Corp. of Vermont.
Lobbying by opponents of the planned racetrack has apparently paid off and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to hold a public hearing on the 251 acre motorsports park proposed to be built on the north bank of Mount Whittier.
Maine divers may replace herbicides as the best tool to root out milfoil, the fast-growing underwater plant that threatens Ossipee Lake.
When June D’Andrea goes down to the dock at her home on Ossipee Lake’s Leavitt Bay, she pauses before she gets into her boat to scoop up handfuls of milfoil that dot the shore, hoping to snag a few of the weeds before they can take root.
The state has decided to allow a Massachusetts couple to continue to build a controversially tall house on Lake Winnipesaukee, even though its height violates shoreline protection laws.
The Freedom planning board on August 19th reluctantly approved an amendment to a 1988 agreement with Totem Pole Park that would extend overnight camping at the condominium campground from 6 to 11 months.
Town Hall was packed to capacity and the crowd was largely opposed, but on Thursday night, Freedom’s Planning Board voted 5 to 0, with one abstention, to allow Totem Pole Park campground on Ossipee Lake to be open for all but 30 days of the year.
A group of Freedom residents has joined forces to oppose the application of Totem Pole Park campground to expand its months of operation from 6 to 11.
When Totem Pole Park Campground was granted condominium subdivision approval in 1987, it was with the agreement that the park would remain a non-residential campground, open May 1 to October 15 – and for recreational use only.
An early-morning fire at Camp Cody on Ossipee Lake Monday demolished a multiple-use building that had been used as a wood shop over the summer and set up as a chapel for an incoming church group. Nobody was hurt in the blaze.
July’s viewing statistics are in line with the month-to-month growth that the website has experienced this year, according to Alliance vice president and co-director Susan Marks.
Ossipee Selectmen have decided to take no action regarding a notice from the Tamworth Planning Board about an upcoming public hearing on Club Motorsports’ wetlands application with the town.
In the mid-1800s, Freedom’s Shawtown district was a vibrant and growing area of families and farms. By the turn of the century, however, it had vanished.
As program coordinator, D’Andrea will work with individual volunteers, lake associations, and children’s camps to establish volunteer efforts across the lake system to search for and report on invasive exotic species such as variable milfoil.
Under state law, that means the planning boards of all potentially affected towns must be treated as abutters and invited to comment on the application.
The directors of Totem Pole Park, the largest campground on Ossipee Lake, have applied to the Freedom Planning Board for approval to remain open during the winter.
In addition to considering the impact on the town, the Board expects to hear concerns about the potential impact on neighboring towns, including Ossipee and Freedom.
The state has denied an application by Pine Landing Beach Club Inc. to expand its congregate mooring field on the big lake from 39 moorings to 45. A public hearing was held on the matter on March 16th.
A global positioning unit. A special permit to apply chemicals. A dive team to hand-pluck weeds at the depths of the lake, $86,000 and a group of scientists at the University of New Hampshire for research.
The pamphlet, called “The Special Places of Ossipee Lake,” is receiving wide distribution through funding provided by Public Service of New Hampshire.
The variable milfoil infestation in Phillips Brook on Leavitt Bay was treated with an aquatic herbicide as scheduled on June 16th, according to Ken Warren of the Department of Environmental Services.
Abutting property owners and others opposed to increasing the number of boat moorings at Deer Cove were in the majority at yesterday’s state hearing on the matter, according to an official who was present.
According to the application, the Association wants to increase its boat moorings by nearly 80%, from 19 to 34.
Ossipee Lake Alliance is looking for a few good sets of eyes to keep an eye out for variable milfoil and other exotic plant species that could take hold in the lake and spread around its shoreline.
There was that famous New York Daily News “Drop Dead” headline when Gerald Ford’s administration told the city that it wouldn’t bail out the financially troubled Big Apple. Our state government treated the people of Tamworth with far more disdain in March.
Can you identify variable milfoil? How about fanwort, water chestnut and hydrilla? Can you tell the difference between these destructive weeds and beneficial plants such as native milfoil and elodea?
A law exempting “private driving instruction and exhibition facilities” from town regulatory authority over race tracks pursuant to RSA 31:41-a became effective Tuesday May 4th.
Sen. John Gallus is standing behind a bill that if left unchallenged will exempt a developer of a proposed racetrack in Tamworth from an ordinance recently passed to regulate it.
While it has yet to withstand legal scrutiny, a senate bill signed into law two months ago appears to have exempted the controversial private race track proposed for Route 25 from an ordinance the town adopted to regulate it during its annual Town Meeting.
I am strongly opposed to this bill and the way in which it went through as it takes power away from local authorities regarding what goes on in their communities.
A law signed by Governor Craig Benson has created a new class of racetracks that are virtually exempt from local regulation.
The era of the Friedman family’s ownership of Camp Robin Hood quietly came to an end during the winter with the sale of the property to investors led by former camper and counselor David Cole of Ohio.
Gov. Craig Benson has hired Jack Heath to help him promote himself and his ideas.
Comments at the latest public hearing on the proposed motorsports country club to be built on Mt. Whittier spanned a range from technical to emotional, as those at the hearing asked state officials to consider everything from locations of wetlands to the quality of groundwater to the view from Tamworth Village.
Pine Landing Beach Club Inc. has applied to the state to increase its boat moorings on the big lake from 39 to 45.
Kevin Price, principal owner of Ossipee Lake Marina, has withdrawn his appeal to overturn Freedom’s denial of additional boat storage buildings at his Broad Bay business.
Ossipee voters have authorized a $5,000 milfoil treatment and prevention fund. The Alliance sponsored the warrant article and a similar one for $2,500 that was approved by Freedom voters on Tuesday.
By a substantial margin, Freedom residents voted against the two amendments to zoning proposed by the Planning Board which would have permitted much larger houses to be constructed in protected areas.
Two amendments to the Freedom zoning ordinance to be presented to voters on March 9th will allow developers to make “non-conforming” houses even more non-conforming, yet are worded in a way that suggests just the opposite.
State officials and lake associations hope the money, earmarked for research, will do what chemicals, harvesting and containment cannot: eradicate an invasive and exotic weed that chokes off other plants, alters habitat and could cause waterfront property values to plummet.
Ossipee Lake Marina has appealed to state Supreme Court to overturn the recent Superior Court ruling that upheld the town of Freedom’s denial of additional boat storage buildings on the Broad Bay property.
After bickering over who was responsible, a special legislative committee voted yesterday to approve 16 layoffs at the Department of Environmental Services.
Webster Lake in Franklin literally turned green in September when toxic bacteria invaded. While repaving a stretch of Route 3 in Belmont this year, the Department of Transportation polluted Lake Winnisquam for five months.
At its monthly meeting last night, the Freedom Planning Board voted to approve an application by Totem Pole Park to expand its annual operating season from six months to 11 months, subject to a final plan to be submitted by the campground’s attorney.
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has announced lay-offs that will likely mean the end of the state’s Volunteer Lake Assessment Program, a 20-year partnership between the agency and lake associations to monitor the health of the state’s lakes.
In a complex case involving issues that began in 1997, a state Superior Court judge has upheld a decision by Freedom’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to deny business expansions proposed by Ossipee Lake Marina on Broad Bay.
The directors of Totem Pole Park, the largest campground on Ossipee Lake, have applied to the Freedom Planning Board for approval to remain open during the winter.
Statistics from the Lake Host program show that 35% of the boaters there were either unaware or only moderately aware of the milfoil issue.
Legislation that would have raised new revenue for milfoil prevention and treatment by requiring out of state boaters to obtain an annual water access permit has been killed by the House Transportation Committee.
pending a final report later this month, the state will likely recommend using an aquatic herbicide to control the milfoil that has infested Phillips Brook on Leavitt Bay.
Ossipee Lake Alliance and the town of Ossipee will hold a public meeting to discuss milfoil on Ossipee Lake and how to address the new infestation found in Phillips Brook.
Five appeals of decisions made by the Freedom ZBA in the Ossipee Lake Marina case are scheduled to be heard in Carroll County Superior Court at 10 AM on Friday, October 3rd.
The state has turned down a petition for a no-wake zone on the eastern side of Spindle Point in Broad Bay.
State experts have confirmed that a dense weed mass in and around Philips Brook on Leavitt Bay is Ossipee Lake’s third infestation of exotic variable milfoil. [Also includes articles from Carroll County Independent and Conway Daily Sun].
A petition by Spindle Point property owners will be heard by the Department of Safety at 1 PM on August 29th at Freedom Town Hall.
The trial of Frederick Small for the murder of his wife at their Ossipee Lake home in 1916 was a sensational news story that kept New Englanders in suspense for months.
The task of collecting and processing water samples from 19 sites on Ossipee Lake continued last week as the Ossipee Lake Protection Program’s water quality monitoring initiative passed the mid-point of its summer activities.
This year’s Watershed Weekend brought its focus down to the small scale to look at what bugs can tell us about the Ossipee Watershed.
The scheduled start of the Ossipee Lake Marina case in Carroll County Superior Court on July 18th has been postponed due to attorney scheduling issues.
This summer the Ossipee Lake Alliance is conducting a survey of the recreational uses and environmental conditions on Ossipee Lake.
Ossipee Lake Alliance will kick off its speaker series on July 12th with a presentation on the amazing world of Ossipee Lake Natural Area.
Ossipee Lake Alliance has been selected by the New Hampshire Lakes Association to manage this year’s Lake Host program for Ossipee Lake.
Speaking to a large gathering at the annual spring meeting of the Berry Bay Association, the New Hampshire Lakes Association’s environmental policy director said strong grassroots activism by lake property owners and associations is essential.
Alliance executive director David Smith says protecting the quality of recreation and the unique character and environment of Ossipee Lake are essential for the economic future of Ossipee and Freedom.
At a meeting last week, Ossipee Lake Alliance, representatives of state agencies and the directors of six children’s summer camps completed plans to launch the Ossipee Lake Protection Program on June 21st.
Broad Bay Alliance has reorganized to become the new Ossipee Lake Alliance, the first organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Ossipee Lake and its bays, rivers and surrounding land.