The Friends
are proud to announce that we have secured the following capacity
building grants that will greatly help us in strengthening our
organization for the benefit of Connetquot River State Park Preserve:
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FOC Newsletter, Chairman’s Letter, Winter 2007-08
The Fall Fishing Outing was a complete success. The
weather was sunny, but a gusty
wind chilled the air. The trout cooperated nicely to
provide a fabulous time for all. An
outstanding luncheon was provided by the Snapper Inn
and Rita Trapani donated her original
rainbow trout shaped cake for desert. With 22
fishermen in attendance, we raised over $1200.
The State of New York continues to study the
Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN)
condition in trout at the park. It is hoped that a
satisfactory resolution will come soon. Fishing
will commence on February 1, 2008, as scheduled,
with catch and release rules in effect until
April 1, 2008.
The firm studying the feasibility of converting the
ice house into a library, research
area, and document storage facility has submitted a
proposal that will be reviewed by the
board. Until the conversion is realized, the
historic documents will be stored in a local,
environmentally controlled, storage facility.
Work continues on the mill. The State of New York
has completed the footings and
piers. The building will be lowered onto the new
piers soon after they are faced with original
old stone. The board accepted a bid from Joe
Masandrea for this stone work, which has been
started and is moving along at a rapid pace. The
Friends contributed $10,000 towards the cost
of completing the stone facing, so we have even more
vested interest in the restoration. After
the mill is lowered onto the new foundation, the
next steps will be replacing the damaged
timbers and supports and fitting the building with
new shingles, windows, doors and roof.
Eventually, we hope to have a working 19 th century
mill, a worthwhile goal for us to have
accomplished.
This is my first letter as Chairman of the Friends.
I appreciate the board appointing me
as Chairman and will try to do my best to follow in
Richard Remmer’s footsteps. Richard has
done a great job for the past nine years and
fortunately will continue on the board as an
experienced advisor and as an active participant. I
have been a member of the board for the
last 12 years and look forward to our continued
efforts to preserve and maintain a park of
which we are all proud to be a part.
Sincerely,
Bob Labuski
