LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Norton Residents Take Pride in the Reservoir

Letter to the editor from Mike Masone.

Dear Editor,   After reading Kenneth Leavitt’s condescendingly titled opinion piece I was left what apparently is an increasingly  common impression of him.  He thinks everyone but him is an ignorant bumpkin.  His piece implies that after he works his magic on the Reservoir, Norton residents will have something that we can finally be proud of.  This notion is insulting.  Insulting because he implies that prior to his arrival The Reservoir was used as a combination dump/jet-ski park and that no one took any pride in her.  Long time residents of town know that this simply isn’t true.    60 years ago The Norton Reservoir was known for great fishing and clean water.  Fed by local rivers and underground springs it became a recreation …

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Teambuilding Camp Proposes Removal of 83 Trees from Pheeny's Island [VIDEO]

Public hearing to continue April 23.

Norton residents once again gathered at the Conservation Commission public hearing to learn more about the proposed teambuilding camp proposed for Pheeny’s Island. In a continuation of the Feb. 13 meeting, Chris Yarworth of Yarworth Engineering gave more detailed information on property lines and impact on area wildlife. The island is 7.36 acres of surface area. The original conveyance in 1894 listed it as 6 acres. “The 6 acres plus or minus as it’s referred to in the deeds was an estimate because the original deeds dating back to the 1800s, there had never been a detailed survey of the island prior to the work that we had done,” said attorney Matt Watsky. Eighty-three trees out of the estimated 1,750 on the island will be cut down. …

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Conservation Committee to Discuss Pheeny's Island Project Tonight

For proposed construction of ropes based adventure course within 100 feet of Norton Reservoir.

Scroll through the attached PDF to see what else will be discussed at tonight's Conservation Committee meeting.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Conservation Committee Meeting to be Held Concerning Pheeny's Island Project

Letter to the editor from Herbert Ellison.

To the editor: When I purchased my home on South Lakeview Rd. in Norton back in 1990 I did so mainly because of the location.  It is on the water, has great views of sunsets, lots of interesting birds and other wildlife, and relatively quiet.  The highway (I495) produces some background noise and the sounds coming from the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts were rather pleasant.  That changed in a very negative way after the owners discovered they could make more money with rock bands than with the Pittsburgh Symphony.  But I knew that the residential nature of the area, including Pheeny's Island which is just offshore, would not change because it is zoned "Residential".  In fact, the island got its name because the Pheeny family …

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Bill Gouveia

11:44 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I would remind everyone that the conservation hearing is for conservation issues only! The zoning issues and other associated issues shoudl not be and in fact cannot be discussed or handled by the conservation committee - a point they are no doubt extremely grateful for! :)   more ›

Teambuilding Camp Design Released

Ken Leavitt makes next step towards building aerial course on Pheeny's Island.

The design of the proposed teambuilding camp on Pheeny’s Island has been released. Ken Leavitt is making the next step toward creating a teambuilding camp on Pheeny’s Island with the help of Thierry Granier and Wanda Konopka, the very first developers of aerial adventure course activities. Granier and Konopka, of France, designed D’Arbre en Arbre in Quebec. These types of rope courses have been around in Europe since 1995. In 2001, while looking for new markets, Granier and Konopka decided to introduce their concept to the United States. Granier and Konopka completed the design last week.  The course includes two demonstration courses, a kiddie course for ages 7 to 12 and five adult courses of graduated difficulty level from Green to Blue…

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Q&A With Ken Leavitt of the Proposed Adventure Camp on Pheeny's Island

Leavitt addresses questions about his professional and personal past.

Ken Leavitt, who has been in the spot light recently for his proposed team building camp on Pheeny's Island, sent Norton Patch a list of questions and answers about his past. The following is the exact copy of what he sent, and has not been edited in any way. What Happened at Powder Ridge in CT?  We developed a highly viable plan to tightly integrate water park and ski area technology and features, using the topography, and sharing pump systems, lifts, buildings and other infrastructure.  The expanded business with summer features was the only way to justify the massive investment needed to renovate a 40 year old ski area (at the time).  This was before the word “sustainability” became popular.  We purchased the ski area in good faith …

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Norton Rope Course Vandalized

The developer of a rope course on Pheeney Island in Norton said he was vandalized either late Thursday or early Friday.

Leavitt Tries to Alleviate Pheeny's Island Concerns

Selectman Robert Kimball addresses option to buy the island.

With the continuation of the public hearing on the Pheeny’s Island team building camp looming, residents of Norton are drawing the line of support and opposition. The island is currently up for sale by a private owner who is in talks with Ken Leavitt, former owner of the Powder Ridge Ski Resort. Leavitt’s vision is to create a team building adventure camp on the 5.3 acres available on island with rope bridge courses, zip lines and other challenges. “We are promoting the experience of nature,” he said. To try and ease some concerns brought up by citizens, Leavitt answered the following questions: How will Norton benefit from this? Leavitt said that the camp would provide about 30 jobs in the first year. Twenty of those positions would be …

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Bill Gouveia

4:09 pm on Monday, February 27, 2012

The vandalism reflects poorly on the town, even though we don't know that it was anyone from town who did it. It is just unfortunate and makes a difficult situation worse. I hope they catch whoever did do this and they are prosecuted. And I did get a chuckle out of the person who asked me to shut up - fat chance though! I hope this can be discussed calmly and reasonably going forward.   more ›