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Volume 149 * Number 27
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217 W COTA ST
SHELTON WA 98594-2263
75¢
(ISSN-0746-1674)
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Since 1865
July 2, 2014
Town to hire
by Cicely Richardson
ORFORD--If anyone questioned
the need for a full bridge at
Newcomb Hollow in Orford, all
doubts were erased last week after
the deluge on thenight of June 25.
For the second time in three years,
Archertown Brook overwhelmed
the culvert in that dip in Archertown
Road, between Blackberry Hill and
Tillotson Falls Road.
Overnight 4or 5 inches of rain
built up a head of water upstream
from the Archertown crossing.
Sometime in the night, the brook
bl:eached and undermined the cul-
vert and the temporary bridge that
had been installed in early 2012 as a
placeholder until a new permanent
bridge could be built.
The water drove massive con-
crete blocks and jersey barriers
downstream, twisted and bent the
culvert and scoured out the road, the
roadbed and the steel plates that held
it all together.
The first washout had occurred
after Tropical Storm Irene on Aug.
28, 2011. In discussing the tempo-
rary fix that fall, the engineer who
designed it said he expected it
"could stay there a long time." At the
time, Orford road agent Charles
Waterbury added,"I'd guess this will
be in for two years," while the town
raises the money for a permanent
bridge.
That two-year window grew to
three as the project went through
regulatory hoops, with the state and
FEMA having to sign off every step
of the way. On June 25, the evening
of the latest storm, the selectboard
received the state' s go-ahead to sign
the contract with Neff Daniels
Construction to build the new
bridge.
The contract was to take effect
on July 1 with the bridge to be
closed no more than 115 days. How
the project and that timetable will be
affected by last week's sudden
demolition will be the major topic
of discussion when the selectboard,
the engineer and the contractor
meet at 4 p.m. on July 2.
Wednesday night's storm washed
out several other culverts in town as
well on Grimes Hill, Lower
Stonehouse, Indian Pond, Norris
and Mud Turtle Pond roads. The
Orford road crew was called out at 3
a.m. when the Newcomb Hollow
washout was discovered by a
resident who fortunately was able to
back out as he felt the road give way.
Throughout the fol]
Wterbury, i
building inspector
by Ed Ballam
NORTH HAVERHILL Haverhill March, voters approved a town spections, or appoint someone
Selectboard members are hoping budget that included $15,000 to hire whom they oversee to do the work.
some of their latest action steps will either a town employee or a The selectboard foundinconsis-
make the town a better, safer place contractor to inspect buildings in tencies with three different people
to live. At their regularly scheduled Haverhill. It was the selectboard's conducting inspections in town and
meetingonthenightofJune30,they effort to improve the quality of no uniformity in fees paid for the
decided to advertise for a building housing in town and keep the public service or the enforcement of the
inspector and moved one step closer safe and the responders out of codes.
to passing a local health ordinance, harm's way should emergencies At Monday night's meeting, the
In a joint session with Haverhill's occur in the buildings, selectboard voted unanimously to
fire chiefs and commissioners from The town's three chiefs, Brad seek an independent contractor to
each of the three precincts of Kennedy of Woodsville, Don conduct theinspectionsasneeded.
Woodsville, North Haverhill, and Hammond of North Haverhill and There was some discussion about
Haverhill Corner, the selectmen Richard Morris of Haverhill Cor- hiringapersonwhowouldbecomea
moved to finalize the job descrip- ner, all voiced their support for the town employee, but the board
tion for a person charged with hiring of an individual to conduct favored the idea of a contractor to
inspecting commercial and multi- life safety code inspections through- provide the service for a fee. The
HAPI IMERICA--ThIs porch in Corinth is decorated for Independence Day. Several parades family buildings in town for life and out all sections of town. By state board had previously agreed to the
will be held throughout the area on Friday as well as fireworks Friday night, safety code compliance, law, the fire chiefs have the
COURTESY PHOTO BY JULIA HISEY At the annual town meeting in responsibility to conduct the in- See lnspector on page 4
Archertown bridge washed out again New pa],k and ride
the other roads, but Archertown will
built.remain closed tmtil the new bridge iSselectboardOver thealso orderedWeekend'the bridgethe opens in Ne bury
on High Bridge Road to be closed
for an indefinite period of time until by Charlie Glazer
it can be repaired. With the closure NEWBURY--Southbound commuters will findparking a bit easier--and
of the bridge at Newcomb Hollow, visitors to Newbury Village will find congestion a little lighter--starting
people had apparently been using next week, when a new park and ride opens on Newbury Crossing Road.
that bridge as a detour. But it is on Fundedby agrant fromthe Vermont Agency ofTransportation, the new
the state's redlist, is missing a lot is available to carpoolers and will be a new stop for Stagecoach
railing, and is not up to heavy traffic. Transportation, which provides bus service bewteen Wells River and the
Cicely Richardson can be VA Hospital in White River Junction and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock
reached at Medical Center in Lebanon. Southbound trips are made in the morning
crichardson@/onews.com, while return service is provided in the afternoons.
See Park and ride on page 4
Board undecided on
Bear Ridge practices
by Alex Nuti-de Biasi
BRADFORD--After a two-month
trial period, Bradford Selectboard
members took no action last week
on whether to authorize further mid-
week practices at Bear Ridge Speed-
way in Bradford.
In early January, the selectboard
board voted toapprove Bear Ridge
Speedway's annual permit that al-
lows competitive car racing--typi-
cally on Saturdays--at the Kidder
Road track between April 1 and Dec.
31. At that time, the track's owner
made a request that selectboard
amend the permit to allow for
weekly midweek practices over the
course of two hours for each ses-
sion.
Eventually, the selectboard
granted the request in part by issu-
ing a provisional permit for Bear
Ridge Speedway to hold practice
sessions on two weekday evenings
each month during May and June
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The board
would review the provisiona ! permit
at the end of June.
And last week, during the
selectboard's last regularly sched-
uled meeting in June, the board
asked Bear Ridge owner Butch Elms
to respond to some concerns that the
track's neighbors have raised.
"And we certainly have received
quite a bit of correspondence from
some local residents expressing
concern about the noise,"
selectboard chair Ted Unkles said
during the meeting.
"I don't even know how many we
have received," he said, adding they
have received more this year than in
the seven previous years Unkles has
been on the selectboard.
Unkles said some neighbors have
told him that the noise generated at
tile track has been "quite a bit louder"
than it has in years past. Unkles said
the comments he has received indi-
cated that the complaints are about
both the weekday practices and the
regular racing events on Saturdays.
Some of the nearby residents
were at the meeting. Gabi Martino
See Bear Ridge on page 8
SYNCHRONIZED MOOING--A hot summer morning, these bovines were resting in the shade but when they
saw company near the fence, they made the effort to walk over and say hi. They joined together to salute their
visitors on Route 10 in Piermont.
JO PHOTO BY CONNER MACClNI
Groton dam
faces demolition
MAKING HAY WHII
Corinth.
THE SUN SHINES--Rows of newly mown June hay make up a postcard picture in
COURTESY PHOTO BY JULIA RISEY
by Charlie Glazer
GROTON--A disused, dangerous,
and largely forgotten dam on the
Wells River will come down next
week, thanks to the persistence of
North Country River Steward Ron
Rhodes of the Connecticut River
Watershed Council. Much of the
falling-down dam, which sits oppo-
site the Groton town highway
garage, will be taken down and taken
away between July 7-11, weather
permitting.
The breached dam has been
owned by the State of Vermont since
1979, when Green Acre Wood-
lands--formerly known as Franconia
Paper Company--sold it via a
quitclaim deed for $700. The
previous owner was Marcalus Manu-
facturing Company, the predeces-
sor to today's Marcal Paper Com-
pany, known for making paper
towels, napkins, and other paper
products primarily from recycled
Happy Independence Day!
paper well before recycling was
popular. Franconia Paper picked up
the dam as part of a bankruptcy
proceeding.
When asked why the dam will be
taken down, Rhodes says, "Take
your pick." He describes it as a
"deadbeat dam," one that no longer
serves a useful purpose.
Rhodes has been flyfishing on
the Wells River for years, and he
spotted the dam as ripe for
dismantling. The structure prevents
brook trout from moving upstream
at most water levels; wood cribbings
and rebar are exposed, creating a
safety hazard; and the downstream
portion of the river is "sediment
starved," as the dam prevents dirt
and rock from taking its natural
course.
On top of that, the build-up of
sediment upstream of the dam
presents a flood hazard to Route
302. The sediment problem was
greatly exacerbated by Tropical
Storm Irene. The planned removal Of
materials will reduce the 100-year
peak flood level by an estimated 7.5
feet. A 100-year flood is a floodthat
has a one percent probability of
happening in a given year. It does not
mean that it happens only once every
100 years. Changing weather condi-
tions have made 100-year floods
more common.
The dam has created a discon-
nected fish population and has
affected other species, as well.
Rhodes explains that the ecology of
the area is very sensitive; the portion
of the Connecticut River between
the Wells River and the Waits River
is a high priority for river preserva-
tionists, as it is home to a number of
See Groton on page 4
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