Tag Archives: great dam removal exeter nh

foot dragging

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It’s Fathers Day , and it was a beautiful day yesterday for our yard sale, we were so lucky. The new owner of 18 Locust stopped by too! We were happy to move a few things back in that she wanted. Her three children are going to love growing up on Locust.

Too bad for us she did not want the gift of a plastic boat.

Let me know if you do.

I read Friday in the ENL that the fellow that bought and rehabilitated the Loaf stated , “no tenant till the dam is removed”.

I made a few phone calls, and have two more calls to make Monday.

It will be possible for me however to write about my unease over this news this weekend. It seems despite the story about the Loaf, that many like me have been wondering for some time.

When is the Great? Dam coming down?

Why has  there not more discussion and planning for this  momentous event due this Fall?

What exactly is the FOCUS of the BOS and Town Government?

Mike

Spring

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I was over to Chester NH this morning to visit Jeff Geary, a pal of mine at his brand new goat dairy. He recently had his inspection and  now he is  Grade A Certified(scored a 96). I have been helping out the last few months. I dashed over this morning as the baby goats are dropping fast. I had some other photos to take also , out back.

Goat cheese, milk, yogurt, it’s all coming soon!

Local, certified.

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P1060453It’s all quite fantastic, a scratch built dairy. I feel honored to have been  able to participate and help the dream become reality. I might purchase an old milk truck get a white uniform, a cap, and sell and deliver all the delicious products.

I went over to  see the baby goats but I also wanted to walk out to the back 40 to take a few snaps.

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Right out there in the middle of the field are  the  headwaters of the Exeter River.

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This  is the view from the rear of  the property the dairy beyond. The Exeter River starts  here and flows to the right,  into the woods.

 

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This is the pond and you can just see the cleft that is the outlet on the  far bank dead center.

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This “open water” was outside the bank beyond the cleft.

It then follows the terrain into the woods to the left of the tree stand.

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On it’s way to the  Sea

It’s not really a foot wide at this point, it is alive though, and flowing. If one were to engage in anthropomorphism you might wonder how the River would feel, if it knew  it’s dash to the Sea was being hindered by the dewy memories and  history of those whose time is short. Absent of late from the discussion is the fact  that anything less than removal is a cash deal, and solves nothing. Letting the river run free is our only option.

Do the good thing, the right thing, the smart thing .

Vote YES on dam removal.

Here are two links so you can take a closer look at Millcreek Dairy.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Millcreek-Dairy/151565491530027

http://www.millcreekdairy.com/

Mike

 

 

from “On Campus” 2001

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The Flood of April 1987

A bridge over troubled waters: Faculty member emeritus Frank Gutmann took this photo of the Hill Bridge during the flooding of 1987.

Steady rain brought serious flooding to southern New Hampshire during the first week of April 1987. In Exeter outer Court Street was flooded, Linden Street was closed and several low-lying sections of town were evacuated. The school athletic fields were still partly flooded about a week after the start of spring term, when I took the above photograph of the Hill Bridge.

Frank Gutmann, Faculty Emeritus

Exeter, NH

it’s always the same story

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Just another Dam story.

And Cuyahoga Falls city engineer Tony Demasi says that will change the flow – and the look – of the river.

“Everyone in the city has always seen a dam in the river. They don’t remember a time when the dam wasn’t there. And so there’s some anticipation, there’s some curiosity and so we try to help people along with that process and assure them that the final product is going to be what nature intended this river to be anyway.”

WOSU full story

The story always ends the same too, a beautiful river, lovely sounds, splashing, free running water, glinting and sparkling on it’s way to the Sea. The fish return very quickly, plants move in, the river finds it’s way.

How glorious is that !

By voting for dam removal we will be restoring the quality of the water for us and all the critters.

We will be saving the Town a boatload of money and trouble for us all  now and the Community’s future residents.

You neighbors homes will not be subjected to regular flooding and it’s attendant costs of cleanup, insurance.

We will be taking care once and for all the problem that must be addressed, dam deficiency.

Dam removal is the only option that will allow us to avail ourselves of grant monies of maybe 75%.

Dam removal is the lowest cost solution and if we vote yes in March we can get it removed in the 2 year time frame after the  grant is awarded. That is quite key, being able to meet that timetable.

The time is now, and we must hold the hands of the timid  and help them to understand the clear truth and facts.

It’s all going to work out fine and you should all want to be part of this wonderful thing. Your  vote is critical to helping the Community do the right thing regardless of the Selectmen’s vote.

There is nothing “wrong” with  Community members taking the reins, it’s quite appropriate in my view.

I also believe  strongly that local support is key to securing the  grant monies from NOAA and other funding agencies. If you don’t think those administrators making decisions on awards don’t gauge and watch our march forward , you are wrong.

The NWS people were given pause by the initial no vote of the Selectmen. It is precisely the actions of the organizers and signers of the petition that got this all back on track.

We are  not coming apart as a Community but coming together and that is admirable, it should be  lauded and celebrated.

It’s a competition for the Sandy Storm funds and we should all want to win!

If you have any questions at all, still on the fence, or just so  busy with life that you can’t focus,we can help you. On February 6th at the Library there will be a chat from 7-9pm. It will be a low key, consultative session. You might think about stopping by and posing your questions.

The River Study Committee has all the answers.

Mike

get a map, stop whispering

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I ran into Paul Vlasich at Shaws today , he was picking up some lunch . I had just left a River Study Meeting and wanted to inquire  about this great tale of personal riches flowing to those that are just so smart that they could see 25 plus years into  the Future .

That dam removal will result in expansive development for one guy!

Sorry , I am sure many were enjoying the story.

Paul invited me to stop by DPW where he is hard at work preparing the grant application.

He gave me this map which is in the River Study documents. No one is going to be building anything.

Sylvia our Town Planner agrees.

Red line delineates  median annual storm-high tide.

Blue shading is the 50 year storm profile.

The yellow line is the FEMA 100 year floodplain.

The black  line is  100 yr storm

This map above is existing conditions.

The map below is the Great? Dam removed.

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It’s a fact #1

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The petition drive was and will continue to be a great exercise in education and commitment. You can still sign to have your name included in the grant application documents.

I have been in close contact with Brian Griset as you can imagine.

The other evening I was discussing the swamp outback of his place. I was on Bing, “birdseye” while we chatted, looking right down on his home.

I was doing a bit of research and he was most helpful as we chatted.

Today I had to dash into Boston to grab a date book for my Mother at the MFA. I did it just after the photo op downtown. My mother has kept a journal for many years. I had neglected to order it online when she asked so since we are having lunch soon, I had to grab it.

It was the last one in the gift shop without sending someone to the stock room and my window for a quick turn around was closing. The rain was gruesome headed home.

Before I head to Boston I always check the traffic, and since the Fenway  was the destination my eye wandered to the Emerald Necklace on the map.

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted ( whose firm designed the Swasey Parkway) it’s a series of gardens and paths and parks that extend  all the way to the Arboretum.

Exeter  too has a necklace of sorts ,of wetlands. They will always be wetlands and the dam removal will have no great material effect on them. The Seacoast is loaded with wetlands.

Seacoast.

So , back to Brian  Griset and the phone call. I said something about Brickyard Park  that heavily  used youth athletic field which was in view on my screen.

Very quietly Brian tells  me “I donated that land to the Town”

It is Community  knowledge and rightly heralded from time to time the gift of Mr Holloway for our Rec Fields at the Community pool.

I could find few that knew this Fact#1. concerning  this gift of Mr Griset.

Mike

special selectmen meeting on great? dam

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  • Voted to continue grant pursuit.
  • Voted to have DPW pursue an RFP on dam stabilization(complete  and utter waste of time) as an exit strategy from previous decision.
  • Speech was made as to how the Great? Dam decision was “rushed to judgement”.

Drop that wail please about rushing things Mr Chartrand, it is not resonating with the Community.

The Community of Exeter is fully behind Dam removal, it is the only option, the most cost effective, and it is going to happen.