Alliance Report

In some years, news on the lake is dominated by a single story. Such was the case in 2016.

If the ruddy duck were school bus yellow, its posture in water would remind you of a rubber bathtub toy. This is a "prairie pothole" duck, and an odd duck in itself, in terms of breeding plumage and behavior. New Hampshire bird watchers are seeing an increasing number of these ducks on state lakes.

Justin Marks, son of the Alliance's Susan Marks, grew up spending summers on Berry Bay. Now a screenwriter, with Disney's hit "The Jungle Book" among his credits, he'll be speaking at Freedom Public Library on Wednesday, December 28, at 1 p.m.

Freedom's Select Board has authorized the Conservation Commission to establish a legal fund to support the town's contention that Ossipee violated zoning laws by approving the campground's plan to double in size from 258 sites to 519. Officials say more than $8,500 has already been committed to the fund.