FISH TALES. President s Message. Inside this issue. Dear Members,

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Inside this issue

President’s Message.. . …...1 Mission Statement………...2 Fundraising Results .... 2 Lake Rules & Regulations..2 Horace & Gary ... 3 PLA Membership ... 4 Lake Happenings ... 5 See Something, Say Something ... 5 Water Test Results ... 6 Photo Gallery……… 7 Membership Form……….. 8 Apparel Fundraiser ... 9 Apparel Order Form……..10 New Neighbors………11

President’s Message

Dear Members,

It has been a very good year for Prindle Lake. Your Board of Directors has been working behind the scenes on your behalf to adhere to our mission statement. Here’s a partial list of accomplishments:

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Defined and adopted rules for safe enjoyment of the lake

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Implemented a new program to effectively reduce weeds

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Ran a matching fundraising campaign with a generous anonymous donor

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Worked with Town Conservation Commission on lake issues

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Represented PLA at Town Lakes and Ponds Task Force meetings

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Maintained the PLA website to provide information to members and public

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Welcomed new lake residents

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Encouraged members to view the full moon from their watercraft

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Created a prize word search puzzle for members’

entertainment

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Collaborated to produce Fish Tales

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Designed & produced lake apparel to raise funds (see Page 9 for details!)

Thank you, members, for your continued support. Without it we couldn’t accomplish nearly as much.

Sincerely, John Colognesi

September 2021

FISH TALES

PLA Mission Statement

The mission of the corporation shall be to advocate and work for the well-being of Prindle Lake, to represent the interests of its members relative to Prindle Lake, and to educate its members about the conditions of the lake and measures needed for the lake’s sustainability

Rules and Regulations for the Use of Prindle Lake

General Rules

1) Sailboats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, wind surfers and rowboats are permitted on the lake, provided they are human or wind powered.

2) Watercraft may have electric motors that do not exceed 5 horsepower on the lake. Any owner of an electric motor purchased prior to September 12, 2020 may apply to the Board of Directors to request an exception to the 5 HP limit.

3) No watercraft powered by an internal combustion engine is permitted on the lake except for maintenance purposes with permission of the Board or emergency purposes.

4) No internal combustion engine vehicles, including but not limited to snowmobiles, ATVs, autos or trucks are permitted on the ice.

5) All powered watercraft must yield right of way to swimmers and all human powered watercraft.

6) Any and all use of the Association’s property shall be at one’s own risk.

7) No use of any chemical is permitted in this lake except for lake maintenance performed by a licensed party and only with permission of the Board.

Matching Fundraising Campaign Results

Original donation: $1,000

Matching donations received: $2,965 Total Funds Raised: $3,965

THANK YOU!!

WE DID

IT!

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The Great Adventures of Horace and Gary

Submitted by Denise Thomas

It was a beautiful summer morning in early June when our house painter, Dylan Lorditch, arrived to continue stripping and staining our house and garage. To our surprise, he hopped out of his truck, opened the passenger door, and lifted out two, very big, black ducks he placed on the ground and went about his business as if this wasn’t unusual at all.

Meet Horace and Gary two very sweet Cayuga ducks. The Cayuga is an American breed of domestic duck. They were introduced to the Finger lakes region of New York State around 1840 and are named for the Cayuga people of that area. Who knew? But all that is lost on Dylan, because to him they are just … “The Boyz”. They have been pets of Dylan’s for several years and follow him around like little puppies. The Boyz travel with him from job to job and just hang out while he works. Our home was the perfect place for them to spend time as the water was within waddling distance and there are lots of shade bushes and soft mulch to rest under.

While Dylan worked The Boyz swam, napped, and toured the neighborhood creating quite a stir. Lots of texts passed between the neighbors and pictures were taken of the unusual pair. When it was quitting time, they were nowhere to be found! Dylan said they were out swimming when he last saw them, so he let them stay for the night. I watched for them all evening and finally spied them snuggled in for the night in the yard – PHEW!

The next day comes and goes and Horace and Gary were gone again. I thought he said they were “good boyz”?

Little rascals if you ask me. This time it was many hours since they were last seen. Dylan asked me to call him if they returned and he’d come for them. He said, “Don’t worry this has happened lots of times before. They’ll be back.” and off he went sans The Boyz. He might not have been worried, but I WAS. I didn’t want them to go missing on my watch! I put out the word texting the neighbors to keep an eye out. Now the neighbors were worried too! Texts were flying like someone’s hair was on fire. But not Dylan he was cool as a cucumber, knowing they’d be back.

Late that afternoon my very concerned neighbor was on her porch hoping to see them swimming. She

happened to spy something unusual in her neighbor’s chicken pen. Could it be them?! On closer inspection sure enough, Horace and Gary were safely, and to the dismay of the other

occupants, in the chicken pen. Apparently, earlier in the day my neighbor spied them walking up her driveway. She knew somehow, they were someone’s pet and corralled them to keep them safe. She was not part of the text string, so she had no idea that only 100 yards away we were searching high and low for this very sweet pair.

Oh, and why wasn’t there a ruckus in the chicken pen when two new ducks were introduced to the chickens? Horace and Gary sleep in a chicken pen at home and know exactly how to be “good boyz”.

Case of the missing Cayuga’s - SOLVED.

John Arsenault

Joseph & Brittany Bialy Todd & Jennifer Bidwell Kevin & Debora Brassard Glenna Brownell

Jason & Kelly Cantara Mark & Lee Cauley

Kathleen Murray & Jim Collins John & Pat Colognesi

Scott & Diane Crowe Bill & Nancy Duby James & Deborah Errara Janice Gallagher

Patricia & Jeffrey Gay Eleonore Guertin

Lawrence & Laurie Harms Robert & Patricia Harris Hope Hebert

David Hendry & Nance Miller Kevin & Melissa Jadin

Chad & Jan LaVallee Bruce & Nancy McKinstry Ronald & Kristina Niedbala James & Dawn North John & Karen O’Brien Richard & Beverly Prager Tom & Claudette Racine Ruth Rogers

Steve & Lisa Sergio Brad & Nancy Smith Michael & Denise Thomas Randolph & Anne Thompson Jeffrey Thompson

James Tripp-Pockevicius Sheila & Michael Viel Andrew & Karen Visser Janusz Warnajtys

Nancy Wilkie & RIchard Watts Joseph & Kim Welch

Enrique Yaptenco Stephan Zeveska

PLA Membership

Membership in the PLA helps us to have the funds necessary to maintain the lake for everyone’s enjoyment. It entitles you to vote on matters brought by the Board. Thank you to the following households for their 2021-2022 membership.*

*as of 9/6/21

Not a member? It’s never too late to join! (See Page 8 for details)

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The Brassards had a visitor in mid-June. The snapping turtle dug many exploratory holes before finding the right one to lay her eggs.

Lake Happenings

See Something, Say Something

Submitted by Mark Cauley

In July, the PLA board was notified of erosion coming from a construction site on Pumpkin Lane impacting the wetlands, private property and Prindle Lake. Two PLA members reported property damage to the Town Conservation Committee. Our PLA Directors contacted the Conversation Agent and reported the damage to the lake. They came out to the site and notified the contactor to install additional erosion control.

After another rain storm and more runoff, an Enforcement Order was issued requiring all work to cease and desist. It also required the property owner to complete a restoration and erosion control plan to be

presented to the Town Selectmen at the August meeting. The property owner hired an engineering firm to create the plan. The board and impacted residents attended the Selectmen meeting in August however the plan was not yet complete; therefore, the Enforcement Order was continued until the September 1

meeting.

In the meantime, the Conservation Commission allowed the contractor to work to further improve the erosion control. The PLA Board will have representatives at the September 1

meeting.

The PLA Board appreciates that this issue was brought to our attention and will continue to work with

those impacted and the Town to rectify the situation. Working together we can protect this valuable

Prindle Pond Water Testing (August, 2021) Date: August 3, 2021

Weather: Sky – P.Cloudy 60's

Daytime Avg.Temp (48hrs). – 70's, Weather (48hrs) – P. Cloudy/Some Rain

Site ^Depth

(M)) Temp (C) Tem p (F)

RDO

(mg/L) pH Cond.

(uS/cm) Turb.

(NTU)

Tom Cove 0.5 23.39 73 8.43 8.04 130.5 2.9

John/Jeff 0.5 23.12 73 8.09 8.03 131.2 2.6

Dam 0.5 23.19 73 9.16 8.05 130 3.4

Dam 1.5 23.21 73 8.55 8 129.2 1.9

Hope 0.5 23.46 74 8.41 7.99 130.8 2.4

Kevin J. 0.5 23.09 73 9.23 8 130.3 2.7

Jan 0.5 23.14 73 8.61 8.07 131.2 2.2

Watts 0.5 23.64 74 8.85 7.97 ^130.6 2.6

Jason 0.5 23.1 73 8.41 8.08 ^130.8 2.7

Secchi 1.8

Secchi (M) Temp.C RDO mg/L

pH uS/cm NTU Excellent Readings > 4.5 <25.0 >/= 6 6.5 –

8.0 <120 0-1.0 Good Readings 3 to 4.5 </= 27 5 to 6 6.5 - 8.5 >120.1 1.1.—5.0

Fair Readings 1.2 to 3 </= 28.3 4 to 5 6.0 - 9.0 >240 ^{5.1.-- 10} Poor Readings < 1.2 >28.3 <4 <6.0, >9.0 >360 >10

Secchi and Turbidity (NTU) – Measure of the cloudiness in the water, can be caused by soil erosion, run-off, waste discharge, algal growth, boat traffic and pollen.

Temperature (C) – Measure of the temperature of water which has an impact on the dissolved oxygen, weed and algal growth, and the fish.

Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) – Measure of dissolved oxygen, colder water holds more oxygen, fish become stressed at levels below 4mg/L. At 10C – 11.3 mg/L, at 30C – 7.5mg/L

pH - Measure of the acid/alkaline relationship in a water body.

Conductivity (uS/cm) – Measure of dissolved inorganic solids such as road salt, fertilizers, or contaminants from a failed septic system.

Prindle Pond Water Test Results

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Photo Gallery

Courtesy of Todd Bidwell

Courtesy of Mark Cauley

Courtesy of Melissa Jadin Courtesy of Denise Thomas

MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO PRINDLE LAKE ASSOCIATION

2021 INVOICE

PRINDLE LAKE ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 386 – Charlton, MA 01507

FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 2021 TO JUNE 30, 2022

NAME/ADDRESS Please provide/update your email

address for periodic

correspondence and the password to “Members Only” pages on our

website

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PRINDLE LAKE ASSOCIATION

The Prindle Lake Association is committed to preserving the quality of our lake.

ITEM DESCRIPTION AMOUNT SUBMITTED

AMOUNT

1 2021 Annual Membership Dues - 7/1/2021 - 6/30/2022 $ 60.00 $ _____.__

2 2021 Lake Management Fee – Annual Weed control. Our largest expense is weed treatment.

$ 75.00 (Requested)

$ _____.__

3 Contribution to the “Matching Gift Challenge” $ _____.__

**** THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION! ****

ONLY PAID MEMBERS MAY VOTE AT THE ANNUAL MEETING.

MAKE YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO AND MAIL TO:

PRINDLE LAKE ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 386 – CHARLTON, MA⁰¹⁵⁰⁷

TOTAL $ _____.__

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Prindle Lake Apparel Fundraiser

Show your Prindle Lake pride around town!

We have long-sleeved T-shirts, hooded pullover sweatshirts and zipper front sweatshirts.

Long-Sleeve crew neck T-shirts $25.00 Hooded pullover sweatshirts $35.00 Zipper front sweatshirts $35.00

(Available in an assortment of colors and sizes. See order form for more details.)

Come see our samples at the PLA Annual Meeting

on September 11th!

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Welcome to the Lake!

Home sales on Prindle have been busy this year. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest neighbors:

Robert Peterson, 64 Pumpkin Lane

David Hendry and Nance Miller, 37 Oak Ridge Drive Jim and Deborah Errara, 34 Pumpkin Lane

Terry and Lee McQuill, 81 Pumpkin Lane

PLA Annual Meeting Saturday, September 11

10:30 AM (Doors open @ 10:00 AM) Charlton Public Library, Dexter Hall

Courtesy of Todd Bidwell