P.O. Box 117
W. Suffield, CT. 06093
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West Suffield, CT.
Southwick, MA.
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CRC Update Corner
   
 
by Gerry Crane
  Citizens Restoring Congamond,  May 2002

Off and running…. Summer has officially started according to the Citizens Restoring Congamond calendar. For us it begins with the annual open meeting. This year it was held on April 16th at Crabby Joe's Restaurant. The agenda items covered and voted upon were: The 2002-2003 operating budget (Less than last year); A membership report (More than last year); An update and review of past projects and events; Some refresher information from our technical advisor; An update on last years Sonar treatment, and where we go from here; A preview of this year's upcoming events, including a vote on the theme of our annual 4th of July boat parade (This year it's "Patriotic.. Red, White & Blue); The "kick-Off" for our second annual boat & outdoor sports swap; The official announcement of the 2003 CRC Caribbean Cruise;

 
 
 
A listing of all the presenters for this year's open meetings; An announcement of the launch of our web site www.congamond.com. A short Q&A from members in attendance; and last, but not least, the introduction of our special guest Elaine Sarsynski, First Selectwoman of Suffield. See all the good stuff you miss by not attending! In the past year alone, Citizens Restoring Congamond has given the Town of Southwick $60,000.00 in cash and in-kind services directly related to the weed treatment. We spent over $1300.00 for water monitoring equipment & testing and donated hundreds of man-hours cleaning, beautifying and collecting water samples and preparing them for testing. It is through all the volunteers and great events we sponsor that we are able to continue to in our efforts in maintaining the Congamond Lakes.

A few more details on the events this spring & summer are in order. First our 2nd annual boat & outdoor sports swap. This year it's on May 18 & 19, the Saturday & Sunday before Memorial Day weekend at Saunder's Boat Livery. As the name implies, this is where you can go to buy, sell and trade boats and boating equipment, water ski gear, scuba, kayak's or canoe's and most anything else related to water sports. This year we are adding outdoor gear of all kinds. Camping, picnicking, outdoor games and even deck equipment and outdoor furniture. You can drop off items for sale starting Friday the 17th at noon until 8pm. The swap will be opened to the public 9am till 6pm on Saturday and 9am till 4pm on Sunday. Last year was good… This year should be great! We still need a few volunteers so if this sounds like something you'd like to be involved in, call me at 668-5783, Chris at 413-569-1934 or go to our web site and click on the "contact us' button.

Next will be the annual lake clean-up day. We gather at 8:00 AM at the north boat ramp, near Saunders, the second Saturday in June (the 8th). "Coffee and…." will be available to get you going. And get going you will! We send crews out around the lake proper to remove trash from the water, but most important, we send crews into the wetlands surrounding the lake. You would be amazed at the amount of debris we clean from the lake and its surrounding wetlands. Furniture, batteries, tires, appliances and even household trash is left by people who can't seem (or don't want) to make it to the town landfill. The town of Suffield waives the landfill fees for us that day, saving a substantial amount of money. If you would like to get involved with this very important project, show up at the launch. Bring work gloves, rakes, shovels, rope, pick-up trucks and anything else you think may help. We also will be sending a crew to the south boat ramp to clean, plant and beautify that area.

Then it's on to the Fourth of July boat parade on Saturday the 6th.… This year's theme, "Red, White & Blue" should prove to be lots of patriotic fun. This event usually draws over 200 boats, all decorated and ready for a good time. We start to gather in the south cove (near Saunders) of middle pond around 4:00 and the parade leaves around 5:30. Invite a bunch of friends, get out the colors, have a decorating party that afternoon and join in the fun that evening. If you want to come and watch some good areas are: Barnett's Cove (off route 168), Southwick Old Town Beach, North Boat Ramp Gazebo (great spot for a picnic) & South Ramp Area.

There will be more happening this summer, but I just wanted to tell you about the March 2003 Caribbean Cruise we are planning. It's a seven-day, Western Caribbean cruise leaving from Miami with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico. There will be a full presentation by Barbara Balboni from the Accent on Travel agency at our May 14th open meeting at Crabby Joe's. Right now you can get some details at our web site. Our site has a full schedule of events and other interesting lake related information. Check it out!



Citizens Restoring Congamond is a duly recognized, volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the Congamond Lakes. We can be reached at www.congamond.org, or P.O. Box 651, Southwick, MA 01077.
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