SWH planning board approves miniature golf course slated for 2023
Other news: Man pleads guilty to 2021 Long Pond crash; many cruise ships already booked for 2023; Neighbors escalate illegal battle against Charlotte's
SOUTHWEST HARBOR, Aug. 20, 2020 - The Quietside will soon to be home to the second miniature golf course on Mount Desert Island, a sign that tourism remains healthy and is a significant chunk of the local economy.
Town natives David Horner and Holly Masterson, who have been fishing lobsters and scallops together for 20 years, received approval Thursday night from the Planning Board for “Golf of Maine,” a theme park which will feature a different aspect of the Gulf of Maine from their years on the water for each of 18 holes.
The course will be sited at the outdoor Acadia Vendors Market just north of the Food Mart and across Rt. 102 from Smuggler’s Den campground.
Only two existing vendors will remain - a seafood purveyor and a barbecue vendor, Masterson said, to make room for parking.
The project did not go down without a fuss, from three residents who said they feared SWH is moving toward the unchecked bacchanal which is Bar Harbor.
Seawall Resident Nancy Weingarten said, “I'm not an abutter, but I think that is not what this town needs. I'm sorry. I think it's a mistake.”
Weingarten identified herself as a member of the town’s comprehensive task force.
“We're in the process of becoming Bar Harbor and personally I really object, and I'd like to know a lot more about it because none of this got out much to the public until you've already taken your vote,” she told the planning board.
Greg Gulledge was one of the three opposing the project. His home abuts the northeast corner. He said he only heard about the project last week when he received a notice. Gulledge said he is worried about the traffic.
Whether by intent, they stumbled upon on one of the least known aspect of this town - that is has virtually no zonings laws.
It has only two regulated districts - downtown and everywhere else, with the purpose of keeping non-maritime industries and buildings exceeding two stories out of the village but allowing a free-for-all in all other parts of town.
“They could put in a strip joint,” said one Planning Board member to Weingarten.
“Yeah, a strip joint,” said another member.
Under “Land Use Standards,” the Land Use Ordinance states: “All uses are permitted.
Masterson said on a call that miniature golf has been a favorite activity in her family since she was a child.
“This idea has been kind of tossed back and forth,” Masterson said. “For years. We've been trying to figure out some way to share our experience of fishing. We get a lot of phone calls about it. We do interviews.” Masterson was one of several profiled in the 2022 book Pretty Rugged about “women of the seas.”
Last fall, the owners began seriously contemplating a “fishermen-themed” park, “so each hole will tell a story of the different fishing practices in the Gulf of Maine,” Masterson said. “Everything from lobstering to herring fishing, to scallop fishing, to ground fishing to shrimping and clamming …”
Unlike Pirate’s Cove in Bar Harbor, which is a national chain with 27 locations, Golf of Maine will be developed by Harris Miniature Golf, based in Scranton, Pa. and owned by Masterson and Horner.
Masterson said she is hoping for an opening around next Memorial Day.
Colorado man pleads guilty in 2021 Long Pond water craft collision; sentencing deferred
SOMESVILLE - It took almost a year, but one of the worst accidents ever on Long Pond was adjudicated in court June 16 when the operator of a Boston Whaler which rammed into a 12-foot kayak last July near the Northern Neck causeway pleaded guilty to operating a watercraft recklessly.
George Massucco pleaded guilty to a Class D misdemeanor, the most serious crime before a felony in Maine, which is punishable up to a year in jail and a fine up to $2,000. He was charged in January.
A Class E charge of “operating watercraft to endanger” was dropped.
His sentencing was deferred until next summer upon his meeting the conditions for the deferment which included not breaking any more laws, not operating a watercraft in Maine, successfully completing a Coast Guard safety course, and sending a letter of apology to the victim, Mary D’Allesandro of Bass Harbor.
According to the Maine Warden Service, Massucco was piloting a 16-foot Boston Whaler July 20, 2021 and towing a water skier near Northern Neck on Long Pond and hit a kayak with 71-year-old D’Allesandro inside. Passengers of the Whaler, as well as Massucco, 53, of Boulder, Colo., helped D’Allesandro and brought her to the ramp at Long Pond’s End where she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, according to the warden service.
“In the four years I’ve been here, this is the first incident I’ve dealt with on Long Pond,” said Camden Akins, warden for MDI, told the Islander last July.
Long Pond is the only fresh water body on MDI that allows motorized boats with 10 horsepower or greater.
“There’s not any restrictions as far as horsepower goes,” said Akins. “There may not be many special regs (regulations) on Long Pond but there are many other requirements when it comes to navigation, equipment and registration.”
The traffic on the lake is made more congested by the National Park Canoe and Kayak Rental. When customers are renting equipment, manager Bruce St. Peter said many will ask about motorboats on the pond. He and his staff direct customers to the western, quieter of the lake, according to the Islander.
“Typically motorboats won’t go there,” said St. Peter. “It’s pretty beginner-friendly out there.”
At any one time, the public launch area at Pond’s End off Pretty Marsh Road may be a caldron of swimmers, kayakers, canoe and paddle boaters, scullers, sailors, power boaters and volunteers inspecting for invasive plants - all vying for their piece of the lake.
About 10 years ago, jet skis were banned from Long Pond.
Like elsewhere, 2021 was “really busy,” said St. Peter, “It’s been hectic with so many boats on the water.”
FOOTNOTE: Many boats tow skiers and children on inflated platforms without a spotter. I was almost clipped by one 20 years ago when I was swimming near the shore and a single operating boater went over me (I dove and stayed under water until the skier went by).
How will Bar Harbor unravel 2023 cruise schedule with many ships already booked?
BAR HARBOR - No one told the Norwegian Escape that the town has new rules for visitation starting in 2023. The 4,266-passenger cruise ship this week was still taking reservations for a port call here next September.
Same with 13 other ships which exceeded the town’s new daily cap of 4,000 passengers for September and October 2023 in the Cruise Management Plan adopted by the Town Council this week.
Seven ships are booked for April and November. They would violate the plan’s embargo against any visiting ships for those months.
What’s the plan to unravel this?
Who’s going to tell these ships they can’t come? Or is that not in the plan?
Town Manager Kevin Sutherland, who stated in an interview with the Portland Press Herald that his plan would be much easier to implement than the citizens petition which called for a cap of 1,000 visitors, did not respond to an email requesting details of how to unravel the 2023 schedule.
The QSJ wanted to ask him why he chose 2024 to illustrate the effect of the new Cruise Management Plan, instead of 2023 (see below).
The town still must craft a legal document of agreement with the Cruise Lines International Association, which would take weeks, if not months. Then it must fashion a Shoreside Vendor Ordinance before 2023.
Meanwhile, the cruise lines are continuing to book reservations.
Citizens petitioner Charles Sidman said sardonically, “That’s because the cruise industry still doesn’t believe it’s going to happen.”
Neighbors add to Charlotte’s woes as lobster pound continues to resemble ‘a crime scene’
SOUTHWEST HARBOR - Like the Chinese Navy encircling the Island of Taiwan, neighbors of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound have escalated its illegal encroachment of Seawall Road, adding cones, “no parking and “no trespassing” signs to curtail customer access to the restaurant.
“It’s like a crime scene,” said a distraught Charlotte Gill as potential customers are confused and chased away by the red and orange signs.
And the neighbors are getting plenty of support from the town constabulary, the town manager and and the state, despite a clear desire by the previous select board to de-escalate the dispute.
On June 26, the select board - the same board which previously voted to install signs in July 2021 - realized its had gone too far in supporting board then chair George Jellison’s personal campaign against the restaurant on behalf of his sister who lives across the street.
At a raucous meeting attended by Charlotte supporters, that board rejected Jellison’s request for a motion to “authorize the placement of no parking signs on Seawall Road from Trap Mill Road to Balsam Way.” Jellison asked for a motion three times and was greeted by silence from members Carolyn Ball, Allen Willey and Chad Terry.
The four signs put up a year ago were vandalized or destroyed. The board indicated clearly it had no appetite for extending this fight.
But that’s exactly what Town Manager Marilyn Lowell and Police Chief John Hall are doing. They plan to erect those signs anyway and enforce the private “no parking” signs put up by by neighbors. The police department is down two patrol officers.
The temporary signs put up a year ago was to give the two sides time to settle the dispute. They were never intended to be permanent.
In fact Police Chief Hall came back a few months later to report the two sides were making progress in negotiations.
Then in May, the neighbors pulled off the Band Aid. The two across the road hired an excavator who put down boulders at the edge of Seawall Road (see below). The neighbor on the same side as the restaurant erected a fence, also at the edge of the road.
DOT engineer John Devin of Region 4 did not return a call from the QSJ to explain why the DOT has not removed the boulders and fencing which he deemed illegal obstructions to the state easement on Rt. 102 as he threatened to do in June.
The new select chair Carolyn Ball did not reply to an email asking whether she knew about the recent, escalated activities at Charlotte’s.
Lepage, Mills say they oppose aqua farm in Frenchman Bay but little else
GOULDSBORO – How do you spell “DEAD IN THE WATER?”
American Aquafarms, the Norwegian startup with a founder who spent time in prison, has about as much chance of building its 120-acre salmon farm in Frenchman Bay as Jared Golden has in embracing gun control.
Former Republican Governor Paul LePage, who is running against Democratic incumbent Governor Janet Mills in Maine's upcoming race for governor, wrote in a Facebook post last month, according to Intrafish.com, the authoritative industry publication:
"As Maine’s next governor, I will oppose any future application from American Aquafarms in that location, … the working ecosystem in Frenchman Bay is much too critical to place at risk for this proposed venture. Good public policy dictates that economic development and the health of Maine’s air, land, and water must go hand in hand."
Similarly, Mills has taken a strong stance against AA, but with a caveat: she supports other aquaculture industries in the state.
"The governor does not approve of American Aquafarm’s proposal and is pleased the Maine Department of Marine Resources independently rejected its application based on state law and scientific criteria," said Alexandra Raposo, Mills’ campaign manager.
"Governor Mills is a fierce defender of Maine’s lobster industry, which is a cornerstone of our economy, and she will continue to support the industry and advocate for their success," she added.
Raposo said the governor is a strong proponent of aquaculture that includes "oyster and kelp farming," and that she also "supports responsible aquaculture proposals that do not interfere with existing uses and fisheries."
Frenchman Bay United (FBU), the coalition that is leading the fight against the the AA salmon farm proposed for waters next to Acadia National Park, stated in a press release, “It is encouraged by public statements opposing the project from both major candidates for Maine governor.
“After more than a year and a-half of hard work building strong, credible opposition to a proposal that will do irreparable harm to the environment and economy in and around Frenchman Bay, we are pleased to know that we will have the support of whichever candidate is elected governor in November,” said Henry Sharpe, FBU board president, adding: “There is much work still to be done to make sure that something like this is never allowed anywhere along the Maine coast.”
Maine continues with taxpayer supported efforts to woo foreign companies to take advantage of its lax policies such as $100 per acre annual fee with 20-year leases, and self-reporting of fish mortality in net pens.
Several companies have launched ambitious projects for raising salmon in Coastal Maine, and The Kingfish Company is planning to raise yellowtail in a land-based facility in Jonesport.
Both LePage and Mills have welcomed Nordic Aquafarms to Belfast, Maine, where a proposal to build a massive land-based salmon farm is tied up in the courts.
LePage also while governor supported Whole Oceans, a project that nearly five years and three CEOs later hasn't even broken ground.
Since being elected governor in 2019, Mills' office has invested in and supported Maine's growing aquaculture industry.
“Aquaculture represents a promising opportunity to create new jobs, strengthen and diversify our economy, and expand Maine’s reputation as a premier destination for seafood,” Mills said in May, citing aquaculture's overall value for the state at more than $100 million (€98.5 million).
In December of 2019, she announced a 10-year strategic economic development plan to grow the state’s economy, and included aquaculture as a way to support high-wage growth.
High School installing system to filter out PFAS before students, teachers return
BAR HARBOR - Seventeen filters will be installed at the high school next week by the Norlen’s Water Treatment company of Orrington to eliminate the “forever chemicals” found in the school’s wells, Principal Matthew Haney said this week.
That should return the water to normal use before students arrive Aug. 30.
The school has been using bottled water for drinking. If tests confirm removal of PFAS to safe standards, then the water will be drinkable, Haney said,
In May, elevated levels of lead and PFAS were discovered in the school’s water.
“The introduction of carbon filtering closer to the source would mitigate water that comes through the bathroom faucets and toilet fixtures as well as hoses and other water that is not consumed,” Haney told the Islander.
The carbon filtering system cost $30,000 which will be paid for by state grant.
SWH businesses hang posters for awareness of domestic abuse
SOUTHWEST HARBOR - Gov. Janet Mills last year told of a young woman in an abusive relationship with an alcoholic boy friend who one night held a gun to her head. Mills says the woman packed her bags and left.
“That woman went to law school, she became a prosecutor, later Attorney General and now is the Governor of the State of Maine. I will never forget that night, and I will always know I was one of the lucky ones," Mills said. Hear her remarks: https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2021-04-28/i-was-one-of-the-lucky-ones-gov-mills-tells-her-own-story-at-unveiling-of-new-domestic-abuse-report
Mills agreed to lend her image to the tireless efforts of Patrisha McLean, former wife of singer Don McLean, to awaken the public to the issue of domestic abuse.
Their marriage ended after Don was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence in 2016. He pleaded guilty to four of six charges as part of a plea agreement.
Patrisha McLean was in town last week distributing more than 60 posters to storefronts in the village. The Camden resident has been coming to MDI since when her children were young. Long-time friend Julie DiNapoli of The Store on Clark Point Road assisted.
A total of 43 survivors of domestic abuse have lent their image to help McLean’s campaign.
A report from the state last year identified 18 homicides over a two-year period that were acts of domestic violence. That was nearly 43 percent of all homicides in the state between 2018 and 2019.
TRIBUTE: Gladys Dornfield Sawyer
Gladys Dornfeld Sawyer, 95, passed away Aug. 14, 2022, peacefully after a brief illness. According to her wonderful caregiver, Marlene, “she left this world on a big clap of thunder.” Gladys was born June 28, 1927, in Bar Harbor, the beloved daughter of Thelma (Gott) and Friedrich “Donny” Dornfeld.
She grew up in McKinley, now known as Bass Harbor, and went to the McKinley Grammar School and then on to Pemetic High School in Southwest Harbor. Gladys had many fond memories of growing up with brothers Bill and Paul and her best friend Esther. After she married, she moved to Bernard, where she lived for the past 70 years.
Gladys led a full life surrounded by her loving family and many lifelong friends. She had the “gift of gab” and loved talking to anyone. She had a smile for everyone she met and was well known for her delicious hot milk cakes and her peanut butter fudge, which she generously shared during the holidays.
Gladys’s family meant everything to her. Besides her daughters, Linda and Felice, Gladys had three wonderful grandsons and six great-grandchildren. She also had a very special niece who took her shopping and out to lunch regularly — two of her favorite things.
For many years Gladys worked in the sewing room at The Hinckley Co. She was a member of the Eastern Stars and the Tremont Consolidated Church.
She is survived by her daughters Linda Musson and Felice Janes (George); three grandsons Noel (Mary), Jeremy (Margs) and Garric Worcester; six great-grandchildren: Caroline, Meredith and Nat Musson, Lena and Carter Musson and Sawyer Worcester; and several nieces and nephews. Gladys was predeceased by her husband, Lawrence, her parents, her two brothers and a beloved son-in-law, Terry Musson.
There will be a celebration of life on Sept. 11, 2022, at Thurston Lobster Pound, 9 Thurston Road, Bernard, from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Total Care Solutions, 625 South Road, Holden, ME 04429.
TRIBUTE: Marilyn Peterson
1928 - 2022
NORTHEAST HARBOR - Marilyn Ann Bryant Moran Peterson, 93, passed on August 3, 2022, and is now with God in Paradise. She was born October 16, 1928, in Somesville the daughter of Ralph Alonzo and Eleanor Gertrude (Young) Bryant.
She is a descendant of the Stanley’s and Gilley’s of the Cranberry Islands. Her first years were spent on Islesford in the family house built by Thomas Stanley in 1830. She attended grammar School on the island. During her freshman year the family lived in Medford, MA where she attended high school. That following summer they moved back to the island, and she went to Bar Harbor High School for the next three years. After graduation in 1946, she worked in a local paint shop in Bar Harbor where she met and married John “Jack” Patrick Moran II, a World War II veteran. They raised five children mostly on Islesford.
After 25 years of marriage to Jack, they parted ways and Marilyn married Philmore Peterson, a local fisherman from the neighboring island of Great Cranberry. She became a stepmother to Catherine “Kitty” and Paul. Later, Marilyn and Phil moved to Maple Lane Apartments in Northeast Harbor. Years later after Phil’s passing, she became a companion to Everett Butler until his death.
During her long life she had many interests. She volunteered for the Red Cross, did bookkeeping for her mother and stepfather Elmer Spurling. Marilyn worked at the Islesford Store as a clerk and helped make donuts. She cleaned on both islands with one being the old Coast Guard Station on Islesford. Marilyn was a waitress at The Cranberry Cove Restaurant and sold her beautiful knit wares at The Whale’s Rib Gift Shop both at “Big Island”. Marilyn volunteered at a local thrift store off island. She loved music, dance, and playing cards, especially cribbage. She enjoyed having many family gatherings and would share her deep knowledge of genealogy with all who were interested. Marilyn was a homemaker alongside her husband Jack, raising and caring with all their heart for the children. This was her greatest achievement!
Marilyn is survived by 5 children, John P. Moran III, Jane Moran Porter both of Bar Harbor, Joan Moran Pickering of Northeast Harbor, Ann Moran Young and husband Michael of Otis and Timothy Ralph Moran of Islesford; 5 grandchildren, Wendy Porter, Jason Pickering and wife Lindsay Eysnogle, and Rochelle, Lorelei and Kristian Wehrfritz; 3 great-grandchildren, Luciana Katrina Pickering, Marina Marilyn Pickering and Greenley Helene Porter; a brother: Bradley Roy and wife Barbara Wendelken Bryant; a stepdaughter; Catherine “Kitty” Nelson and husband Dale; stepson Paul Peterson and wife Phyllis; step grandchildren, Molly Nelson and partner Mike Poissonnier, Mathew Nelson and husband Joseph Fong, Gretchen Kozachenko and husband Mike, Eric Peterson and wife Allison and Allison, Michelle, and Anne Young, step great-grandchildren Amy Young, Jessica Hartford, and Trinity Young, Owen and Avery Peterson, and Parker Nelson-Fong; and many nieces and nephews. Marilyn was predeceased by her parents; stepfather; 2 sisters, Lena McComick and Lillian Alley; her two husbands and her companion; 2 granddaughters Katrina Pickering and Stacey Peterson.
The family wishes to thank all the doctors, nurses, family, and friends that God has put in her path, especially the Northeast Harbor Ambulance Service, MDI Hospital, Mt. Desert Nursing Association, Beacon Hospice, and her many friends from Maple Lane Apartments. With all the care she received, Marilyn was able to fulfill her wish to remain at her home. Those who desire may make contributions in Marilyn’s memory to any of those organizations.
Private family services will be held at the Stanley-Hadlock Cemetery, Islesford.
Arrangements in care of Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mt. Desert. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
l was wondering about the lack of action at Charlotte's Legendary Lobster Pond. Please keep the heat on the Maine DOT and have them explain why they can't enforce their own regulations. My advice for Ms. Gill would be to file a law suit and let God sort it out.