THE PASSING OF JOE BENZING

The Board members of the Province Lake Association are sad to announce the death of Joe Benzing this past Friday. Joe worked tirelessly, with his wife Pat, on the environmental stewardship of their landholdings and to make Province Lake a better place for future generations.

Tomorrow, June 28, a funeral service will be held at St. Matthews church in Limerick. A reception will follow from 1 to 3 PM at the Province Lake Golf Course.

Joe’s obituary and further information regarding services are below. You can also visit the Watson, Neal and York Funeral Home, Cornish, ME website.

Joseph C. Benzing of Province Lake in Parsonsfield, Maine died at age 75 on Friday, June 24, 2016, at the Barron Center in Portland, Maine after a prolonged and brave struggle with frontal lobe dementia. He was born in Portland, Maine on October 19, 1940, the son of Raymond and Constance (Constant) Benzing. His wife, Patricia Benzing, was at his side, and his children, Adam Benzing, age 36, and daughter Christiane Benzing, age 34, were en route from Orlando, Florida where Adam has begun a medical residency and Naples, Italy where Christiane works on a command staff for the United States Navy.

Joe was a beloved and active citizen of town of Parsonsfield and the state of Maine. He served as selectman of Parsonsfield during the 1990’s. He played a leading role in 2001 as part of a group of concerned citizens who worked with The Nature Conservancy and the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands to secure funding from Land for Maine’s Future to purchase a conservation easement on an 8,647 acre parcel of forest land in Parsonsfield known as the Leavitt Plantation. The easement ensures that the land will remain undeveloped and managed for sustainable forestry while it also remains open for public recreation.

A 1958 graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and a 1962 graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, Joe served in the United States Navy, 1962-1967. In 1969, Joe earned a Masters’ in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and worked as a business manager, first at Waterville Valley Ski Resort and, subsequently, at Atlantic Antibodies, a biomedical research company.

Later in life, Joe served as moderator at Parsonsfield town meetings, he served on the board of directors of Parsonsfield Seminary, and, on two occasions, after earning a Master Captain’s License, he captained The Africa Mercy Ship, the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world. He worked on a Mobil oil ship, on tankers in New York and as a volunteer captain for the Lightship 112 Nantucket, a floating sentinel, part of a lifeline that played an important role in the development of our country and part of our maritime heritage. Joe served as a volunteer on the Russian Tall Ship Sedov on its return trip from Boston to Liverpool, England.

Throughout his adult lifetime in Parsonsfield, Joe gave himself to the stewardship of the landholdings of his parents which he expanded into Province Line Associates. He served on the executive committee of the National Tree Farm Association, was a member of the New Hampshire and Maine Tree Farm Associations, and, in 2000, was named (along with his wife, Patricia) Outstanding Tree Farmer of York County by the Maine Tree Farm Committee.

A funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, June 28, at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, 19 Dora Lane, Limerick, ME.  Burial with U.S. Naval Military Honors will follow at Lakeview Cemetery, Old Portland Road, Freedom, NH. From 1:00-3:00, a reception will be held at the Province Lake Golf Club Restaurant, 18 Mountain Road, Parsonsfield, Maine.

In  lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Friends of Par-Sem, PO Box 163, Parsonsfield, ME. 04047 or to: Province Lake Association, PO Box 24, Effingham, NH. 03882.

BOAT LAUNCH DONATION DRIVE

The 1st Annual 2016

 Boat Ramp

TFCC Province Lake Boat Launch

Donation Drive

The Towle Farm Community Corporation (TFCC) is the owner of the only public boat launch ramp at Province Lake. The ramp is located on Bonnyman Road in East Wakefield, NH.  For over 60 years, TFCC has made this ramp available for public use free of charge.

The TFCC is a non-profit homeowners association with 45 supporting property owners who, through their dues, maintain the boat launch area including the expenses of taxes, liability insurance and maintenance. These costs have quadrupled over time and TFCC is seeking donations from the public in an effort to offset these ever-increasing costs associated with a ramp used by the public.

TFCC will conduct a boat launch donation drive at the ramp two weekends a year. The first donation drive will be the last weekend in May and the second during the first weekend in September or Labor Day Weekend. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000 per year. The suggested donation amount is $20.00. A ramp information flyer and a receipt will be provided to each donor at the time of donation.

Anyone missing these weekend campaigns that wishes to make a donation is encouraged to do so by sending their check to:

Towle Farm Community Corp.
Boat Launch Drive
P.O. Box 70
East Wakefield, NH 03830

Free Septic Evaluations!

Do you have problems or concerns relative to your septic system? As part of PLA’s ongoing work to reduce the amount of phosphorus and other pollutants flowing into Province Lake, funds are available through the NHDES grant awarded to the Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA) to conduct evaluations of septic systems around the lake.

These evaluations are totally free to the property owner. The evaluation will provide information to the owner as to what is necessary to make the system function in an effective and environmentally friendly manner.

Once a problem is defined, up to $3000 may be available to remediate the problem next year.

These evaluations must be conducted before the ground freezes or after the spring thaw. There is no need to be present when the evaluation is conducted. Only six more evaluations are available.

If you would like your property to be considered, please contact AWWA at 603/473-2500 or info@AWwatersheds.org to see if you qualify.

Towle Farm Community Golf Outing This Saturday

Attention Golfers:

Looking for a great golf event and a chance to win big prizes this Saturday…. and support the lake erosion control projects at the same time?

It is not too late to sign up for the 7th Annual Towle Farm (TF) Golf Outing.

Shotgun Scramble Start at 7:30 AM with lunch and awards at noon. Entrance fee is $100 per person.

All funds raised go towards the Towle Farm Road Erosion Control project that greatly helps Province Lake waters.

Another TF fundraiser of interest is the Silent Auction and Penny Sale – also at the Province Lake Golf Course on Saturday August 29th from 7 to 10 PM.

To register for the golf event or for more information please email Bill Kane at b.kane@comcast.net

TFCC Golf Tournament New

IT’S A BOY! NO IT’S A GIRL! MAYBE IT’S BOTH!

We have some exciting news to share for all of us around Province Lake. The Loons have had a pair of chicks! This is the first time that we are aware of this occurrence. Although very exciting to us on the PLA Board, the folks at the NH Loon Preservation Committee, and possibly to you, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not go near them. Keep a very keen eye out when driving your boats and skiers … the young ones are not able to react like the adults can. Also, please spread the word to watch out and stay clear. If you must see what the chicks look like, check out the photo’s below and on the home page scrolling photo’s, compliments of Thom and Jan Townsend with a zoom lens camera. You will also start seeing red warning signs as pictured below.

One final note … a huge thanks goes out to Steve and Mary Craig and Thom and Jan Townsend who every year put out the nest and signs and monitor what is going on. There is finally success for the proud Grandparents.

Again, please help us out and educate others! And watch our website and Facebook page for any additional news.

Photo’s are from Thom and Jan Townsend, copying, re-posting etc. is strictly prohibited without their written consent.

 
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RFQ for Shoreline Restoration and Stormwater Managment

The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance requests qualifications for consultants to assist with the following project:

Province Lake Watershed Management Plan Implementation Phase 1 – Residential Shoreline Restoration & Stormwater Management.

To download the RFQ, click here:AWWA PL Landscape Design RFQ July 2015

Response Due Date: RFQ Responses are due by 2:00 pm on, July 17, 2015  to Linda Schier, Executive Director, info@AWwatersheds.org

LANDSCAPING FOR HEALTHY LAKES – JUNE 27

unnamedHi Everyone,Do you love our LAKE? Of course you do.

Would you like to learn how to improve lake water quality while beautifying your property? Sounds like a WIN-WIN.

How about getting a free lunch with that?
OK – I will tell you how………………

AWWA is conducting a  “Landscaping for Healthy Lakes” workshop on June 27th!
All are welcome to join in for this hands-on workshop in which you will learn how to plan and build simple rain gardens that will help prevent sediment from entering our lake. This event will be held at the Greater Wakefield Resource Center (254 Main St., Union, NH). The added benefit will be improving the senior center with some attractive landscaping! Springvale Nurseries will be bringing lots of low-maintenance, native plants and sharing their knowledge about which plants are suitable for various conditions around our lake. The workshop will begin at 9 AM and end with lunch for those who RSVP by June 24th.
I hope to see you there!
Pete Dinger
PLA President and AWWA Director