Sadly, someone stole a 9 hp boat motor and fuel tank from a boat parked at the beach along Rte 153 near Butler Field.  They were locked to the boat and the locks were cut.  A police report was filed.  We thought you should be aware and you should watch your boats etc. and keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

The PLA Annual Meeting Minutes for the 2016 meeting and the Fall 2016 Newsletter have now been posted under the News tab from the home page of the website.

Congratulations!!

In an effort to promote invasive weed awareness, PLA Weed Watcher Program Coordinators, Tucker Vye and Carl Davis, “planted” two plastic imitation exotic weeds in the lake and they were found!! Congratulations to Andrew Brown and Ryan Sears for keeping their eyes on the lake! They both received gift certificates to Blue Bay Seafood and Steak Restaurant.

For anyone that frequents this lake, it pays to notice something out of the ordinary. Keep an eye on the water, you could win too! Noticing a weed that is new to an area is vital to the health of our lake. It could save thousands of dollars if a real invasive weed is found or detected in the early stages before spreading.

See this link to the NH DES “Frightful 14” so you know what real invasive weeds to be looking for:

Frightful Fourteen

More prizes will be awarded so keep looking!

Below, Tucker Vye presenting Certificate to Andrew Brown.

The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance is hosting the US EPA CyanoMobile on July 27th on Lovell Lake.  For more information, see the link below:

http://awwatersheds.org/cyanomobile-coming-wakefield/

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.

If you are a fishing person, take note of the two articles at the links below and spread the word to your fellow anglers.  It could cost you $250 if you don’t follow the new law.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/newsroom/news.html?news=272

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160527/NEWHAMPSHIRE03/160529744/0/SEARCH

The 1^st Annual 2016

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

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 7^th 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 29^th 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

Hi Neighbors,

Summer is approaching fast, and for that we are all grateful. With the increased usage of the lake come responsibilities. We all need to contribute to protect it’s purity. I am referring here to the lack of invasive weeds.

This year we will have a monthly “patrol’ of the lakeshore to look for new or changing weed patterns. Weed watching is but one of many methods that the PLA is engaged in to maintain our weed free condition. Given that there are 11.2 miles of shoreline, we need to share the weed watching duties. I am currently recruiting volunteers who would be willing to survey a section of shoreline on a monthly basis and report in to me about their findings.

I hope to have enough interest from the entire lake community to be able to assign each volunteer the area in front of, or at least close to, your property. That should make it the most convenient for us all. The survey is general done by boat and usually takes approximately an hour (if we have adequate interest).

Having done this before, Donna and I have made this into a routine we do early in the morning, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the lake. It is also much easier to see into the lake and view the weeds when it is calm. After a few “weed watching rides” you become very familiar with the existing weed growths and the survey becomes routine. For any of you that want to volunteer, but are unsure of weed types, we at the PLA will be happy to train what to look for.

Reporting in will be done via Email (or phone if email is not available), so that portion will be quick and easy. The hope is that each volunteer will, in general, survey the lake in front of about 10 to 12 properties, or about 1000 feet of frontage. That may sound like a lot, but it can be done quickly. Of course, if we can get participation, the survey we each do will be minimized.

There are a few key areas we really need to focus on and those are where public use occurs. The boat launch on Bonnyman Rd., Route 153 beach area and Province Shores Campground are the most critical. If you can do any of those areas, please let me know.

Please Email or phone me with your interest and where you would prefer to survey. I will put a plan together and respond back. Thanks for your interest and participation.

Carl Davis                                    112remickcd@gmail.com                                                                                                            539-3344