NEWRY — Selectmen on Tuesday night signed a contract with the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Bridgton and approved insurance coverage for volunteers who serve the town’s needs.
Deputy Town Clerk Kelly Scott said Thursday that Newry’s animal control officer, Sue Milligan, takes stray or lost dogs to the Bridgton shelter. That’s why they contract annually with Harvest Hills.
Scott said the board wanted to get accident insurance through the Maine Municipal Association for residents that are appointed to serve on town committees.
In other business, selectmen adopted a wait-and-see-what-Bethel-does approach with the Bingham Forest recreation access road issue.
At that July 13 meeting, residents on a dirt road in Bethel voiced their discontent with plans to allow mountain bikers, hikers and other recreationists to drive the road to reach trails on the 2,300-acre parcel that is in Newry, Scott said.
In 2007, a rainstorm and subsequent flash flooding severely damaged Chapman Brook, ending its use as Bethel’s primary water supply. After its owner, the Bethel Water District, built wells in a new location, Bethel became the land’s trustee. The town developed a management plan for the land to preserve the brook’s quality while allowing low-impact recreational use.
Scott said selectmen also learned that work on the Letter S road project is progressing. That project involves reconstructing a stretch of Sunday River Road between Nordic Knoll subdivision and the Letter S swimming hole.
As for summer roadwork, Scott said culverts are installed and roadside mowing has been completed.
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