The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1907-11-07
Important Decisions.

ulHdLlub ou CdouIuayj WIG NOuuVy
Commissioners rendered several de-
cisions of considerable Importance,
some Of the matters at issue having
been before them for consideration
since last spring.
The proposition to have the county
purchase and maintain the Norridge-
wock bridge was dismissed. The
parties who believed the county
should take over this bridge secured
the passage of an act at the last ses-
sion of the legislature, permitting the
county commissioners to purchase it
if they deemed such a course wise
and if they were able to agree upon
terms with the owners. 1t has been
toll bridge and, of course, if it
passed into the hands of the county,
the tolls were to be abolished. The
bridge is the fifth built at that point
and the reported cost was $22, 600.
The present ownership is represented
by 381 shares of stock of the par value
of S62 each. The cost of repairs for
the past 10 years had been about
$1,000 per year. The bridge company
proposed to sell the bridge to the
county for the present market value
of the stock which they estimated to
be SIS per share, amounting to S5715.
The commissioners did not feel justi-
fed in accepting this proposition and
denied the petition. They were in
fluenced somewhat In their decision
by the consideration that the bridge
would require extensive repairs in
the early future.
In the matter of the Butler and
Moore ferries across the Sandy river,
the cost of maintenance was deter
mined between the towns of Nor
ridgewock and Starks, two thirds on
the former town and one third on the
latter. This action was taken after
denying the petition for discontinue
ance of one of these ferries. Before
the act of the last legislature, making
the Sandy river the dividing line be-
tween the two towns at this point,
these two ferries, which are but two
miles apart, were both in the town of
Starks. They now operate between
the town of Starks on the one side
and Norridgewock on the other.
The commissioners also took action
on the petition of James Martin and
others for road from Pleasant Pond
in Caratunk Plantation, to Mosquito
Narrows, on the line of the Somerset
railway, a distance of six miles. The
petition was denied, the road now
under construction from The Forks
to Lake Moxie being thought to
sufficiently answer the necessities of
communication between the Kenne
bee valley in that section and the line
of the railway. The Forks -Moxie
road is five and one third miles long
and the point where 1t terminates,
Lake Moxie, is but five miles north
of the proposed termination of the
Pleasant Pond Mosquito Narrows
road.
One more matter, which had Great
ed considerable interest in the local
ity affected, was disposed of. This
was the petition for the discontinue
ance of about one mile of road in the
towns of Athens and Hartland, near
Moose Pond, the futile Bridge road,
so called. 1t seems that the raising
of the level of Moose Pond has flowed
this road to a certain extent and
make its repair and maintenance a
matter of a good deal of expense
The movement for discontinuance
may be said to have originated with
the town of Athens and was opposed
in general by the people of Hartland
and by some residents of Harmony
and of Athens, who believed they
would be inconvenience If the road
was discontinued. The commission
ers accepted the view of those who
objected to the prayer of the petit
tioners sufficiently to refuse to dis
continue the highway in question.
Formal decisions embodying the
above will be filed at the regular De-
cember Term of the County Commits
sioner's Court.