| January | February | March |
| April | May | June |
| July: No Meeting | August: Picnic Meeting | September |
| October | November | December |
No one took minutes, as the interim secretary was away.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Mordes, Interim Secretary
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Present were Brian Yates, John Mordes, and Bob Burke
Brian will try
to get Bill Tedoldi to get Needham support for rulings
Newton wants smaller
Echo Bridge request with no advanced submission date. Brian wants to advocate
for this Upper Falls key project
It is uncelar if the changes to the 128
southbound exit ramp to route 8 will add additional land to hemlock gorge
The
Newton Conservators have asked for a walk before railings
Has been
progress on dead wood removal
Respectfully Submitted,
John Mordes, Interim Secretary
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To be looked for.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bonnie Pearson, Secretary
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Present were Brian Yates, Jason Lupien, Robert Ellertson
Robin Dexter Jay Werb, Ellen Katz, Evan Westrate, Vaunita Schnell and John
Mordes. It was our largest turnout in a long time, and we welcomed our
newcomers.
Jason Lupien gave an update on the hemlock scale
infestation; it is expected to be bad this year due to the drought. Brian
informed us that the DCR is still planning to do further insect control work
with the trees, but they did injections. Jason worries that Transect, which is
sprayed on the bark, was not used, because, while both do well with the
adelgids, the Transect is more effective against scale. Jason suggested planting
Canadian hemlocks to replace lost trees, but it is not clear how much they
differ from the Eastern Hemlocks in the Reservation. Brian asked if we could in
some way support the growth of any saplings in the Reservation. Jason suggested
hand application of oil spray. There was hopeful speculation on various other
planting and preservation strategies. JM will contact Erica and Karen to
resurrect the issue of new plantings.
The Friends of Hemlock Gorge’s Annual Spring Cleanup will
be held on Saturday April 29. October 15 starting at 9:00 a.m. Due to the
ongoing construction in the meadow, we will meet in the Mills Falls parking lot
on the Newton side of the river, at the intersection of Ellis and Chestnut
Streets. As usual, spruce-up materials will be supplied by the DCR and
refreshments will be provided for all volunteers courtesy of Seana Gaherin of
Dunn-Gaherin's Restaurant! Please
dress appropriately for the work and weather (rain or shine; no rain date).
Several people volunteered to share notifications about the
cleanup on the FHG Facebook page that was set up by Jerry Riley. JPM suggested
that we need to make better use of Facebook in addition to the website.
At our December meeting, Evan Westrate then announced that
the DCR has approved our public-private partnership proposal to replace the
fencing by the Stone Building. The Friends will contribute $7,000 and the state
$14,000 to the project. At the April meeting Brian announced receipt of the
official letter of commitment from the DCR. We all congratulated Evan on his
tenacious work on behalf of all of us in bringing the project to a successful
conclusion.
Robert Ellertson expressed concerned about the newly
redesigned Route 9/128 interchange. It appears that the land is being graded to
become a lawn and it seems that the land reclaimed from roadway will not be
added to the park.
It was announced that there will be an invasive plant
species pull along Quinobequin Road extending into Hemlock Gorge on June 17.
Details are at
www.newtonconservators.org
People were encouraged to attend the meeting at City Hall
to discuss lowering the Quinobequin Road speed limit on Wednesday, April 5.
Finally, Brian announced that the Echo Bridge Railing
proposal was not included in the Needham CPA agenda for funding this year.
The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Sean Spicer, Permanent Temporary Secretary
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No one took minutes.
Respectfully Submitted,
Res Tillerson, Secretary pro tempore
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No one took minutes at the June meeting. No business or important announcements were made during the summer or at the picnic.
Respectfully Submitted,
Res Tillerson, Secretary pro tempore
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This meeting was canceled at the request of Brian Yates
Respectfully Submitted,
Res Tillerson, Secretary pro tempore
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Present were Robin Dexter, Evan Westrate, and John Mordes
Evan announced that the new fencing for the Stone Building project has been fabricated and received by the DCR. He is hopeful that construction will begin soon and be completed this fall. We all congratulated Evan on his extraordinarily successful work.
Everyone agreed that the hemlocks appear to be holding their own, perhaps as a result of the arborists' work injecting the trees last week.
The proposed date of the fall cleanup, Saturday, November 11, was neither approved nor disapproved. There has been no input from the DCR.
There was no news on the Echo Bridge Railings project or the deteriorating roof of the Stone Building.
The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. after unsuccessful attempts to reach Brian by phone.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary pro tempore
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Present were Lee and Jean Fisher, Vaunita Schnell, Robin Dexter, Evan Westrate, Ellen Katz, Jay Werb, and President Brian Yates
Evan Westrate announced that fencing for the Stone Building project has been fabricated and installantion is now complete. The new railings, are gorgeous and closely match those installed as part of the spillway reconstruction. This project has been champrioned by who announced last December that the DCR approved our public-private partnership proposal to replace the fencing by the Stone Building. The Friends have contributed $7,000 and the state $14,000 to the project. the official letter of commitment from the DCR was received last spring. We all congratulated Evan on his tenacious work on behalf of all of us in bringing the project to a successful conclusion.
Lee Fisher brought up the parlous state of the Stone Barn roof shingles and his concern that structural damage to the sheething may be imminent. We reviewed our prior efforts to engage the DCR in this need for repair and maintenance, including the offer of shingles left over from another DCR project. John Mordes has now written to Site Supervisor Eric Aubin to see what can be done to get the ball rolling. The current roof was installed by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1990s, but no one remembers how their assistance was engaged. Vaunita believes that former Site Supervisor Rob MacArthur took the lead then, and John has asked Erica to reach out to him. If this is not feasible we agreed that another public-private partnership may enalbe us to get the job done. Lee suggested putting on a metal roof, but there were concerns raised about aesthetics, durability, and acceptibility to the historic preservation people.
Lee also mentioned Brian's efforts to get Echo Bridge on the register of National Historic Landmarks. The bridge is already on the register of National Historic Places, but designation as a Landmark might open the way to funding for new historically correct railings. Brian will pursue this approach.
Karen Osborn has again offered to host our December Celebration Meeting at her homestead on Chestnut. We all agreed to take her up on the offer, and John has communicated this to her.
Lee suggested that the trees that over-arch the channel connecting New Pond to the river should be trimmed to improve the vista from the footbridge towards New Pond. He suggested that winter, when the channel is frozen, is the ideal time to do this. John has communicated this to Erics.
Lee also suggested that something be done to improve the visibility of the Park sign on Ellis Street, which is now partly obstructed by a utility cabinet. Moving the sign seemed to be the most practical approach. John will communicate this to Erica. Lee also suggested re-wording this and the other sign by Route 9 to indicate that Hemlock Gorge is where Echo Bridge is.
Finally, we all expressed our lament that Brian was defeated his be to be re-elected to the City Council. We raised a cheer for all his efforts on our behalf over the years.
Because he will lose his current city email address, here
is his new
one: Briyates5@ gmail.com
Respectfully Submitted,
Honest Jeff Sessions, Secretary pro tempore
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Present at this Holiday Party meeting were Sheila Purdy, Robin Dexter, Karen Osborn, Lee and Jean Fisher, Vaunita Schnell, Robin Dexter, Evan Westrate, Ellen Katz, Jay Werb, John Mordes, and President Brian Yates.
The first order of business was to raise a toast to Brian and with it to express our appreciation for his many years of service on the City Council and as President of the Friends.
Next we expressed our gratitude to Evan Westrate through whose efforts the new railings by the Stone Building were constructed, as noted in the November minutes above. We also expressed our thanks to Karen Shanley through whose generosity with locale, food, and drink the party was such a successful social event.
We then turned to the business of preparing the mailing of our annual report and appeal for dues. Brian announced that the railings project has reduced our fund balance to about $6,000.
We agreed that repair of the roof of the Stone Building would be our main project for 2018. Lee Fisher also expressed hope that additional trimming of trees that obstruct vistas could take place. JPM promised to renew efforts to contact Erica to begin to move these projects forward.
Lastly there ensued much converstation and good cheer until the party and the meeting
Respectfully Submitted,
Bonnie Pearson, Secretary
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