Will Jockey Cap Remain Accessible?
Fryeburg, Maine, Voters Will Decide Whether To Purchase Micro-Mountain
Our friend, Teena Kulakowski of North Conway, was upset to learn that nearby Jockey Cap, a “micro-mountain” with a connection to Admiral Robert Peary, was being put up for sale. “None of us locals knew it was privately owned, and the owners allowed folks to share in the beauty at the top for free!” she wrote. “Times changed and the owners either aged out, knew the micro-mountain was almost priceless in this real estate market, or were sick of paying huge insurance premiums to protect themselves from some jerk suing them if they tripped on a root. I started contacting local people about doing fundraisers so the community could purchase [the] micro mountain and BAM ... The town of Fryeburg bought it! Yeeehaaa!”
Well, not quite. Fryeburg, Maine, voters will be asked at town meeting on June 10 to approve two warrant articles that would allow the selectmen to negotiate the purchase of Jockey Cap. According to the Conway Daily Sun, the town jointly owns the 15.6-acre parcel of land that includes Jockey Cap with an 80-year-old local resident, Arizona Zipper, whose grandfather originally purchased the property in 1912. One warrant article would allow the town to purchase Zipper’s ownership interest, and the second article would “authorize the Select Board to apply, on behalf of the town, for Federal financing assistance under the provisions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act … [and] to enter into the Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Agreement with the State subsequent to federal approval of the project.” The town also would enter into a partnership with the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust conserve and manage the property.
Located about a half-mile from Fryeburg village on Route 302, the 200-foot-high promontory was reportedly used by Native Americans as a lookout and signal tower, and a Pequawket woman, Molly Ockett, is said to have lived in a cave on the trail leading to the summit. From the summit, there are views of Lovewell Pond to the east and Mount Chocorua to the west. Admiral Peary, the North Pole explorer who at one time lived in Fryeburg, made a drawing of the mountains seen from the top of Jockey Cap, and his wife and daughter erected a bronze monument depicting the drawing in 1938.
Resolving A Governor’s Power
Wolfeboro Senator Jeb Bradley helped to forge a deal in the New Hampshire Senate to resolve the conflict between Governor Chris Sununu and the state legislature regarding emergency gubernatorial powers. The House had forwarded House Bill 417 for Senate action, which would have required legislative approval for any measures the governor sought after the first 30 days of an emergency. The compromise that Bradley worked out retains the 30-day limit on the governor’s powers during a state of emergency, but rather than requiring legislative approval beyond that, it allows the legislature to weigh in on any executive orders by a governor and require the governor to seek permission from the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee to spend more than $100,000 in response to any emergency.
Sununu supports the compromise which allows him to act unilaterally to spend money if the state’s health and safety are at risk, but requires him to give a full accounting of the expenditures to the legislative fiscal panel.
During the pandemic, Sununu bypassed the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, instead creating a special legislative committee to advise him about spending decisions involving COVID relief.
House Panel Moves To Nullify For The People Act
The House Election Law Committee, with the support of the Secretary of State’s Office, voted, 11-8 along party lines, to exempt state and local elections from the federally proposed For The People Act that aims to ensure fair elections. Citing the New Hampshire Constitution, supporters of the amendment said the state needs to preserve its own election process while allowing Congress to stipulate the rules on voter eligibility, registration, and procedures for federal elections.
Opponents of the amendment to the bill on election procedures said that such a two-tier system would require separate voting lists, separate ballots, and separate laws, making it costly to taxpayers and confusing to voters, and potentially leading to voter suppression.
Goffstown Representative Barbara Griffin, chair of the committee, called the For The People Act an unconstitutional overreach by Congress and a direct assault against states’ sovereignty. She said the House amendment would protect New Hampshire elections from unconstitutional federal interference.
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