Originally Posted by sunset on the dock
Sometimes people with the least respect for the truth are the most likely to call others liars. Today's front page article in the LDS is a perfect example. A certain NUT who lives in the BP and his little green mountain buddy seem to have taken a few "liberties" in this regard. My favotite was their assertion that only 2 people were in favor of the NWZ. Did you go to those same bars and arcades as last year to take your poll of BP residents? Oh yeah...20 minutes to get through the NWZ...sure...if you're doing the dog paddle. I think these people deserve and will get their NWZ.
Local News
Barber's Pole residents will try again for NWZ
By Michael Kitch
Dec 03, 2010 12:00 am
TUFTONBORO — Many of those who reside and summer along Barber's Pole, the channel between Cow Island and Tuftonboro Neck will likely renew their effort to have the stretch of water designated a "no wake zone."
Tom Hilbink, who owns property on Little Birch Island, was among several residents to say yesterday that, after the New Hampshire Department of Safety (DOS) rescinded its order granting their petition for a "no wake zone" on procedural grounds, they expected to submit a new request as soon as possible.
Barber's Pole stretches for about 2,000 feet — about twice the length of the Weirs Channel — from the southeastern tip of Little Birch Island, off the mouth of Orchard Cove, to where the eastern shoreline of Cow Island recedes to the west. Between the buoys to the west and the shore to the east, the channel is about 390 feet wide.
Legal residents, or property owners, of the township in question are the only ones who may petition the commissioner of safety to place operating restrictions, including limits on the maximum horsepower or speed of boats, on lakes, ponds and rivers. After holding a public hearing the commissioner may adopt rules to impose restrictions found to serve the public interest. Altogether restrictions have been imposed on more than 50 lakes and ponds through this process.
Petitions for a "no wake zone" at Barber's Pole failed in 1988, 1997 and 2008, in part because the New Hampshire Marine Patrol opposed them. Last May, residents tried again. A hearing was held on July 21 and on July 30 Commissioner John Barthelmes issued the order.
However, the order was appealed by a group including Scott Verdonck, the president, and Bob Flannery, the political director, of Safe Boaters of New Hampshire, the organization formed in opposition to legislation to limit speeds on Lake Winnipesaukee. They successfully claimed that some of the petitioners failed to qualify as either residents or property owners of Tuftonboro and the order was rescinded.
The overwhelming majority of those who attended the public hearing and submitted written comments to the DOS favored the "no wake zone." Moreover, David Barrett of the Marine Patrol withdrew his agency's challenge to the measure and declined to take a position either for or against it.
Safety was the uppermost concern among advocates of the "no wake zone."
The Boris family has owned Squirrel Island since the 1860s. Vanessa Boris told DOS that that the volume and speed of boat traffic through the passage made travel between the island and the mainland difficult and dangerous. Describing the situation as "truly chaotic," she likened crossing the channel to crossing I-93. Many of those supporting the "no wake zone" said that swimmers, anglers, kayakers and canoeists were increasingly at risk from powerboats that frequently ignored the 150-foot rule, requiring vessels to maintain headway speed only when within 150 feet of swimmers, rafts, docks, moorings and shorelines, as well as other vessels.
In addition to the hazards of congestion and speed in the channel, many property owners traced increasing erosion along the shorefront to the number, size and speed of boats, whose wakes have undermined trees and shrubs lining the water. Others said that roiling waters have damaged their docks.
Several residents noted that a "no wake zone" at Barber's Pole would be comparable to similar zones designated between Governor's Island and Eagle Island in Gilford and Chase Island and Farm Island in Nineteen Mile Bay.
Opponents of the "no wake zone" discounted concerns for safety. Michael Burke wrote to DOS saying that there are very few days during the boating season when traffic through Barber's Pole is heavy and then "the vast majority of boaters slow down to no wake speed in accordance with the 150-foot rule." Like others, he called for more education and enforcement of the existing rules rather than more restrictions.
Others said a "no wake zone" would slow travel between the islands and the mainland. Testing the claim of a resident of Sandy Island that 20 minutes would be added to the trip, Thomas Light of Little Birch Island said he paddled the length of the channel in 12 minutes, doubting anyone would have to travel slower than a 55-year-old in a canoe.
In framing his recommendation to the commission, the hearings officer, C.N. Duclos, noted that the testimony echoed much of what was presented in 2008, including a video of vessels passing through Barber's Pole, which he did not find persuasive. Instead, he gave greater weight to Barrett's decision not to contest the petition. Those opposed to a "no wake zone," Duclos said, did not indicate that any activity in the channel would be restricted or eliminated if it were imposed. Consequently, he concluded that a "no wake zone" would control, without greatly restricting, the diverse uses of the public water at Barber's Pole.
Barrett said yesterday that in dropping his challenge to a "no wake zone" at Barber's Pole "didn't mean I endorsed it either." He said that the number of citations and accidents in the area did not support the restriction. However, he indicated that if another petition was submitted, he would not challenge it.
Likewise, Verdonck said that Safe Boaters of New Hampshire would not oppose designating Barber's Pole a "no wake zone." But, at the same time, he emphasized that the organization will insist that any petition and public hearings be widely publicized to provide all interested parties with an opportunity to participate in the process. He said that his membership was troubled that a legal notice in a newspaper failed to adequately inform interested parties that a change in operating protocols on the lake was being contemplated. At Verdonck's request Representative John Hikel (R-Goffstown) has filed legislation requiring those petitioning for restrictions on the use of public waters to notify all abutters of the forthcoming hearing by certified mail.
Meanwhile, Representative Betsey Patten (R-Moultonborough) has also introduced legislation that would authorize the DOS to adopt operating restrictions in the public interest without necessarily holding a public hearing.
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