Two Ossipee residents, Joy Gagnon and Joshua Arnold, have filed a civil complaint alleging the right of residents to vote on the Camp Sokokis purchase was compromised by the town’s failure to meet the open meeting provisions of the state’s right to know law. Specifically they said people who waited outside because of a lack of seating could not hear or register as voters or get handouts to explain how the meeting would operate. The complaint asks the court to mandate a new vote to be held in a larger venue.
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The Smart Report: January 2018
After an autumn flood, December was snowy, windy and bitterly cold, with power outages and frost heaves galore. It’s the height of winter on the lake.
Judge to Rule on Whether Ossipee Voters Get Another Chance at Beach Purchase
Ossipee officials claim Camp Sokokis owner Diane Sheehan’s lobbying against the town’s purchase of her Camp Sokokis property was a “blatant contract breach” of her agreement to sell to the town. Sheehan’s attorney said she felt “bullied” into the deal by First Selectman Morgan, and was engaging in “political discourse, which is her right.” A state judge will settle the dispute.
Lake Auld Lang Syne 2017
The Tale of Two Campgrounds, the boat thief who got away, and all the rest. Ossipee Lake 2017 in review.
Country Ecology: Chickadee Flock Behavior
David George Haskell wrote a superb article in the autumn issue of Northern Woodlands entitled “Song of the Balsam Fir,” and while he evolved eventually into that subject, he also ruminated about the chickadees he encounters every year. It is good environmental reporting, so I thought I would reproduce his writing about chickadees instead of discussing how intelligent balsam firs are.