The Branch Pond Association's Annual Meeting is scheduled for Friday. July 15, 1994 at 7:00 PM at Ellsworth City Hall. Please note the change from daytime to an evening meeting. The building will be open at 6:30 for early arrivals.

Much of the winter has been taken up with discussions and meetings between the BPA and City Manager Tim King concerning road maintenance.

On Monday, May 16th the City Council began to deal with a memorandum from Tim King, establishing a basis for regular city maintenance on a limited number of camp roads at both Branch Pond and Green Lake.

The Ellsworth American of May 19th reported the "new" road policy as adopted by the city council, but in actuality the resolution is tabled pending further discussions between the BPA and Tim King. When these discussions move toward more agreement, an ordinance will be posted for seven days prior to a council vote.

The gist of the resolution is as follows:

Summer maintenance would provide labor and equipment for grading and ditching with gravel for washouts still under discussion.

Winter maintenance would provide snow plowing.

In order to obtain these services a deeded public easement would have to be provided to the city and roads would need to be upgraded to certain minimum standards by the abutters or users.

The standards that are now being discussed are:

Sixteen foot travel width.
Two-foot shoulder on each side.
Twelve inches of gravel.
Working driveway culverts where needed.
Cross culverts as deemed necessary by the city.
Ditch slopes to be determined.
Brush cut back width.
Other roads may be considered in the years ahead.

Dorothy Wight, wife of Commodore Paul Wight, died in Florida last January. Dorothy had been the hostess for many BPA gatherings on the west shore of Branch Pond and will be sadly missed.

Gibby Griffin delivered the eulogy for Dorothy and, according to Paul, "said just the right things."

1. One of the first introductions of Brown Trout in the U.S. was at Branch Lake in 1885.
2. A survey of Lake Trout (Togue) growth rates rated Branch Pond ahead of Moosehead and Cold Stream.
3. Bass are more closely related to Sunfish than to Perch.
4. All Eels are born in the Atlantic Ocean in an area near Bermuda known as the Sargasso Sea.
5. Burbot, called Cusk in Maine, are closely related to the Cod. Even though there are none in Branch Pond (as far as we know), they are found in many cold-water lakes in Maine.
6. A Bass's nest is generally 1-1/2 to 2 times his (the male makes the nest) length in diameter.
7. Spawning will usually take place when the water temperature warms to between 59 and 65 degrees F.
8. Before the Civil War, there were no bass in Maine. Bass were probably stocked in Branch Pond in the 1870's.
9. The only positive way to tell the difference between a Brown Trout and a Salmon is by examining the Vomerine teeth. These teeth are located on the roof of the fish's mouth. Brown Trout will display a well developed double row of teeth.
10.The favorite food of Pumpkin Seed Sunfish is snails.

Paul Wight sends the following note:

The first sailboat race of the 1994 season will begin at 2:00 PM on July 4, followed by a social gathering and planning meeting at Paul Wight's cottage. This will be followed by a race at 2:00 o'clock each Sunday, with the final race and awards ceremony on August 14th.

The Branch Pond Sailing Club is a self-supporting activity of the Branch Pond Association. Its purpose is to provide fun and entertainment. Everyone is welcome to participate.

It was a cold snowy winter and the water temperatures are cold. The fishermen have been busy trying, but with little luck in the early days. More loons than usual have been sighted. We hope our count will go up this year. Of course the BLACK FLY population is out and about in large numbers. Whatever your answer is for them, you'll need a lot of it.

The oft-promised opening of the Ellsworth Falls Market finally happened in May. By my reckoning, that's only eighteen months after the original grand opening date.

The public school budget, as presented, has a 23% increase over last year. If approved this would result in an increase in taxes of about 11.6%. This has not yet been approved, but will likely have an impact on tax bills even if revised by the council.