Windham News : Cobbetts Pond

Jet skis collide on Cobbetts Pond

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:02:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Fire Department Marine units were in the “right place at the right time” to help a Goffstown man after he collided with another jet ski on Cobbetts Pond in Windham on July 5, according to Fire Chief Thomas McPherson.

Two firefighters and a deputy chief had been deployed on the pond in the department’s 14-foot boat with a third firefighter on a jet ski in advance of the town’s annual fireworks display when reports began coming in around 8 p.m. that two watercrafts had collided and left multiple victims in the water, McPherson said. Originally scheduled for Friday, July 3, the town’s Fourth of July celebration was postponed until July 5.

“Every year for the fireworks we have a detail on the water to go around and promote boater safety during the fireworks,” McPherson said. “Certainly in this instance it’s proven to be an asset to have that unit. We were able to be in the right place at the right time to immediately render medical assistance.”

Firefighters already on the pond responded to the scene and found 23-year-old Jeffrey LeMay of Goffstown in the water without visible injuries. 19-year-old Jonathan LeMay, also of Goffstown, had already been pulled up into a waiting pontoon boat, according to officials.

McPherson said the younger LeMay was semiconscious and vomiting, suffering from a severe laceration to his head.

Though emergency responders began immediately performing first aid, officials had LeMay transported by ambulance to nearby Griffin Park where he was flown to the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.

Jeffrey LeMay was evaluated, but refused treatment at the scene, according to officials. Authorities have not confirmed whether the two men are related.

According to Sgt. Joshua Dirth of the New Hampshire Marine Patrol, LeMay is in stable condition. The accident remains under investigation and authorities have not yet ruled out alcohol or drugs as a factor in the collision, he said.

The collision is the first accident involving a personal watercraft on record in the state this year.

McPherson said this is the second time the department’s marine unit has responded to an emergency on the pond.

About two years ago a firefighter on the department’s personal watercraft was able to retrieve a young girl struggle in the water and bring her to shore, he said.

The jet ski is kept docked on the town beach during the summer months. According to McPherson, both the boat – fully equipped with medical supplies – and the personal watercraft are inspected on a weekly basis and tested on the water once a month.

I-93 construction still causing sediment problem for Cobbetts Pond

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:47:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

State officials and a local group are pulling out all the stops to ensure no further environmental damage is done to Cobbetts Pond after a second wave of sediment washed into the water.

Reported by a homeowner on April 3, the sediment plume in Heron’s Cove marks the second release of fine silt into the 345- acre pond tied to the ongoing construction work near Exit 3 of I-93. During a two-day period in last December, nearly 4 inches of rain fell on the site, overwhelming existing erosion control methods and causing the release of a roughly 1,000-foot plume of sediment into the pond.

That incident led to the start of weekly meetings between officials with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, representatives of the Cobbetts Pond Improvement Association and the contractor handling the work, Middlesex Corp.

While disappointed by the latest sediment release, CPIA spokesman Derek Monson said the state has made serious efforts to prevent silt from flowing from the construction site into the pond.

“They’re trying. They’ve made great progress since the December 12 incident, but it’s a big site. It’s a lot of open land there,” Monson said. “Unfortunately, something fell through the cracks. There is always room for improvements. It’s disappointing, but they have come a ways since the first time.”

Mark Hammerlein of the state DOT said the sediment released in the latest incident likely came from three different sources near the Exit 3 construction site, including an unpaved parking lot used by project workers.

Hammerlein said a single catch basin – not yet cleaned out from winter – likely caused the sediment deposit after collecting the silt-filled runoff from the parking lot and from the west end of the construction site and washing it into the Cove Brook, which feeds the pond.

A nearby private construction project may have also factored into the sediment release, he said.

In response, Middlesex Corp. now plans to pave the parking lot and separate the everyday in-and-out traffic from the larger construction equipment that is used to haul the sediment. The state DOT has also arranged for a cleaning crew to come in on April 20 and begin clearing out the catch basins around the pond.

“We take this pretty seriously. We put a lot of time and effort into erosion control,” Hammerlein said.

According to Monson, the CPIA has filed a formal complaint with the state, but has not taken any legal action in relation to the latest incident. He said the state’s response following the initial release of sediment was great and had worked to protect those areas of the pond affected. The CPIA plans to continue cooperating with state officials and Middlesex Corp. to prevent further erosion.

Bill Cass, a project manager with the DOT, welcomed their efforts and encouraged residents near the project to report any problems that might arise stemming from the construction work.

“We want to know what’s going on, tell us ... A lot of time it doesn’t come back to the people on site for some time, so we can’t take immediate action,” he said. “There are a lot of things going on to manage the erosion control and it is complicated. Any input, any ideas that can help, we’re always welcoming them.”

Life goes swimmingly – 90-year-old continues birthday pond-crossing tradition in Windham

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:11:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

Millie Saunderson swam across Cobbetts Pond and back – one day before her 90th birthday.

“I’m just hoping I’m going to make it today,” she joked minutes before stepping into the water at her daughter’s summer home at the Windham pond. “I’m not sure.”

Around her birthday for the last 10 years, Millie has joined her family in a swim across the pond and back.

“It’s just across the lake (and back) but she feels it’s an accomplishment,” said her granddaughter, Ann Noyes of Bedford.

Millie lived on the pond for about 35 years before she and her husband, Jason, moved to a one-level house in Londonderry in 2005.

After donning her swimming cap and fastening a homemade flotation device around herself, Millie joined family members, including several great-granddaughters, for the 750-yard trip. Two kayakers paddled along.

When Millie reached the other side of the pond, the kids raised their arms and cheered.

“That lady is amazing,” said Diane Kalwiener, a family friend from Belchertown, Mass., as she watched from a dock. “You would never know that lady is 90, would you?”

When Millie finished, Kalwiener congratulated her, and several members of Millie’s family applauded.

“The water is so warm, it’s wonderful,” said Millie, as she walked back to shore. “It’s the air that’s cold.”

Born Aug. 16, 1917, Saunderson has three children, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, with two more great-grandchildren on the way. She spent 17 years teaching music at St. Joseph’s School in Salem before retiring.

She walked 3 miles a day for 15 years, climbed Mount Willard in the White Mountains when she was 75 and exercises regularly.

“I swear the exercises keeps you going,” Millie said.

When she turned 80, someone suggested a swim across the pond, and a family tradition was born.

“I think it’s wonderful that she’s healthy she can do it,” said Millie’s daughter, Chris Haswell.

Noyes, Haswell’s daughter, said it’s a rite of passage for the great-granddaughters to join Millie on her swim.

“She works really hard to take care of herself,” Noyes said of Millie, who had back surgery last March. “She exercises and gets healthy, goes out and does things. She’s really remarkable.”

The device that Millie used was a piece of a flotation “noodle” that someone added a strap to. Millie called it cheating.

Noyes said it was “a little bit of help.”