Let them kill each other off ! I'll bet there's a flatlander up there !

If the sheriff and county commissioners don't know what to do they should be replaced. Obviously they need an overt and sustained police presence. Get the professionals and call in the Maine State Police.

This is what happens when there is allowed development in the remote areas of the unorganized townships without proper planning for more services for residents. The mantra has been that development such a Plum Creek's giant plan will bring down taxes. In the end taxes will rise and police and fire protection will be costly, as will garbage removal. Seems that Chesuncook Village needs its own sherriff. How much will that cost the county?

What a poorly written story. It gives no background whatsoever about what the dispute is about. Some of us in other parts of the state haven't heard this before, and would appreciate a little more in depth reporting.

Michigal this story is not new as you reference and has been going on now for about 2 to 3 years if memory serves me correct.....it started with "new" folks moving to the area and not "conforming" to the traditional ways of life of the community, (what to heck that means who knows!) I do remember a story about sailing on the lake, growing the "happy weed" and being reported, claiming personally property that had been used as common passage for generations, etc.....just go to the search function at the top of the page and type in Chesuncook and read the happenings in our little town of Deliverance......

I think an exorcism is in order here. Satans hand is at work again.

This is such a shame...this is a beautiful, peaceful place.

My husband and I had the opportunity to stay at the Lake

House last spring and it was a wonderful experience. The

owners, (The Suprenants) ( I hope that's spelled correctly),

were so gracious and inviting. We had a beautiful room with

a spectacular view of the lake, which has GREAT fishing, by

the way. I just hate to see it ruined by this turmoil. Hopefully

all can realize what they have and come to SOME sort of

COMPROMISE.

The press herald did a much better article on this: I would highly reccomend reading the below story if you like all the juicy details.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/nemitz/060903nemitz.shtml

Whoa - Just realized the link i just posted was from 2006 - This really has been going on for awhile!!!

daniel662 thanks for the link....I thought that this feud had been going of for a few years.....2006 story here is good and jogs my memory even more....I had forgotten about the absurd hottub and the 5 buffalo!! Crazy.....

@Daniel662 Thank you for that link. I didn't start reading the BDN online until the Portland Press Herald switched owners (actually a bit before then) so had no idea about all this stuff. That's why a little background to the story (without assuming that everyone's been reading it for the past 3 years) would have been good. With that said, Buffalo???? LOL!

You know, I'm from away, but am just a poor working woman, not someone that buys their "dream home" and tries to make it like the place they left. Although buffalo??? (I'm still chuckling about that!). The ones from away (always wealthy it seems) that move here and have problems all appear to think the same. There are no rules here, let's build our cabins within the setback, let's cut down the trees so we have a view of the water, and so forth, without bothering to go through proper channels.

Nice people or not, these Surprenants seem to want things their way. No matter how they get them. No wonder there is trouble. :D

Yeah, I think when people come in, start developing the daylights out of a property to the point that a right of way must be moved to slam in another cottage, they've just turned a little bit of Maine into New Jersey or Long Island or where ever they were escaping from.

They are home schooling their kids and I wonder if contact with locals is allowed, I bet not....is the view of Katahdin worth all of this fuss?

Thanks for the link with the background, daniel662. I didn't know what the hell this (BDN) story was about after reading it.

A poorly detailed article, another by the same author from last year more clearly describes the situation in the village:

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/50274.html

I have been passing through Chesuncook for many years on fishing trips, and have watched the change over time. I came to know the Surprenants after being stranded in a rainstorm, and the family provided me a warm and welcoming place to stay. While they may be "from away," Davids family has been visiting the village since the 1920's, much longer then the troublemakers in residence. He moved his family there to provide them with a better way of life and a better upbringing. They renovated and preserved a historic landmark. They brought in an attraction, the buffalo, which actually provided business for the local store when visitors passes through. Surely this fued needs to end, I don't think a family with young children need to be photographed and threatened with machetes... God bless this family for sticking to their well-earned rights.

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Looks like it's not just the lobstermen who act crazy!

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Isolation does that to individuals and I suspect to communities, too.