WILTON – The Friends of Wilson Lake are continuing the Courtesy Boat Inspection program with a $250 donation from Franklin Printing to sponsor the fifth weekend of the summer, beginning June 24.
FOWL has been inspecting boats entering and leaving Wilson Lake since 2003. Students are hired to conduct these inspections and the town of Wilton pays them with all costs fully subsidized by FOWL. The costs have been immense averaging well in excess of $4000 per year. Some of these expenses are offset by grants secured by FOWL and provided by the state but much of this expense is from donations by members of the organization. In addition FOWL members provide about 150 volunteer hours in support of the CBI effort.
Franklin Printing has a long history of supporting area organizations and the local community. The company’s roots are in the world of newspaper publishing; the Franklin Journal and Livermore Falls Advertiser, both still in circulation today. As the publishing business evolved, so did Franklin Printing. In the mid-1980s they sold the newspapers and focused on general commercial printing. Today they are proud to be considered one of the most technologically advanced, high-quality printers available in New England.
Program coordinator Jamie Schanck reports that as of June 19, FOWL has inspected more than 200 boats due to the exceptional weather experienced in early June. This about 5 percent more than last year. Please stop by the boat launch, visit the student monitors and support the program’s sponsors.
To maintain these inspections at the same level, FOWL is asking business partners to assist with this effort. For $250 a business can sponsor a weekend of boat monitoring, receive recognition in the kiosk at the boat launch, secure an ad in the FOWL newsletters published three times a year and know that they are helping to keep invasive plants out of our pristine lake. Interested partners can contact Wynn Muller at wynnmuller@comcast.net. There are a few openings in August 2016 remaining. FOWL is also signing up sponsors for 2017.
