As of 2/17/12 crews have installed bypass pipe on Commercial Street from Freeman Street to Ryder Street. This pipe is painted pink for safety purposes and will be used to bypass water while they are installing the new water main.  Read on…..

Greater-Boston area community associations surveyed reported experiencing at lease one significant conflict that involved the board in a 12 month period.  Read on…

• If in a damp, humid climate, periodically lubricate pin tumbler locks with white lithium grease; using anything else will cause the mechanisms to gum up over time.
• Secure the doors. Strike plates and door hinges should be secured with wood screws at least three inches long.
• Close window shutters. Aside from enhancing security, shutters will, along with drapes, blinds and curtains, keep carpeting and fabrics from fading.
• Unplug garage door openers.

By Kevin Mullaney

BANNER STAFF

PROVINCETOWN — Thom Hochard got quite a scare last week, as he was strolling along on his way out to the clam flats by the Provincetown Inn. Hochard, who has been clamming in the public aquaculture areas in town for a couple of years now, suddenly found himself in a sinkhole on the Moors’ saltmarsh side of the breakwater.

“I was by myself, walking beside the breakwater, and all of a sudden it was like I was in quicksand. I kept going down deeper and deeper,” he said.

The people clamming couldn’t hear his screams for help and he didn’t have his cell phone with him. Every step sunk him deeper into the soft sand, first over his boots, then over his knees.

“I can’t swim,” he said. “I couldn’t walk and didn’t want to fall because I didn’t know if I could get up.”

The suction took his boots, and once his boots were off he was able to walk his way through.

“Oh yeah, that sinkhole’s been there forever,” Tony Jackett, the town’s shellfish constable, told Hochard when he called.

There are signs, but apparently they sometimes blow over.

“People go in there all the time and sometimes people need to be helped out,” Jackett said.

The sinkhole is located a couple hundred yards down the breakwater, and starts right against the rocks.

“The sign’s back up now,” said Hochard, adding that he could still see his boots in the muck at low tide.

Jackett’s biggest concern, he said, “is people walking home in the dark.” The clamming hours are from a halfhour before sunrise to a halfhour before sunset. And he checks on any clammers and walkers out there at the closing time, a half-hour before sunset, and tells them they can’t go out there in the dark.

“I’ve gotten a little close to it, almost got stuck,” said one woman walking toward the clamming area on the breakwater. “I’ve heard of people getting stuck pretty bad, people making chains out of the clam rakes. Everybody helps everybody out.”

“Someone told me about it years ago,” said another, whose friend once pulled someone out. “I don’t know much about it. Is it scary? Not for me. I’ve been coming out here for years, and we warn people about it. I avoid that area.”

“It’s not dangerous,” said another clammer digging on the flats. “You won’t lose your life. The only thing you’ll lose is your dignity. It is marked, and we try to tell other people about it.”

“For years there was one spot in the Pamet that was worse,” Jackett said, referring to Truro, where he is also the shellfish constable.

“Don’t take that second step,” is Jackett’s advice. Once you feel the soft area under your foot, back up. Taking that second step puts all your weight into the soft part and you will go up over your boot. Even if you’re alone you’ll get out, he added, using your rake. “But you’ll get dirty.” Sometimes people end up crawling out if it on all fours. “You won’t sink up to your chest.”

Jackett said he keeps the seed close to the breakwater, with the grown clams farther out toward the marsh.

There is a sign on the breakwater, noted Jackett, and another on the outside edge of the soft area, which he describes as about 20 feet wide. It’s mostly new people who get stuck, he said, adding, “If you find yourself all alone, you’re probably in the wrong spot.”

PHOTO KEVIN MULLANEY

Although many longtime clammers are aware of it, one unknowing local resident recently got caught in a sinkhole off the side of the West

1. 

   Clean out the fridge and don’t leave anything in there which is likely to go bad during the time you are away.

   Clean out the fridge and don’t leave anything in there which is likely to go bad during the time you are away. If you have things in the freezer, empty it; don’t leave anything in it in case the electricity is off for an extended period of time; you won’t necessarily be aware and the food will have thawed and refrozen, which is very dangerous. If you must leave frozen food, here is one method for determining if your freezer has warmed during the winter: freeze a container of water solid, then place a coin on the surface of the ice; if the coin has sunk into the ice when you return, then the freezer warmed, letting the ice melt and then refreeze.

2. Remove all food. All foods should be removed so they don’t lure rodents and insects. Dry foods that remain should be locked in tin- or aluminum-lined cupboards or cabinets, and seeds and grains should be stored in metal containers with screw-on lids.
3. Clean the refrigerator and freezer thoroughly. Prop open their doors, the better to forestall mold and mildew (which like to grow in the dark) and their odors, which may transfer to the refrigerator’s plastic parts.
   • You may have to turn off the icemaker and loosen refrigerator bulbs.
   • To further thwart odors, place an open bag of charcoal on the inside of the open refrigerator.
4. Guard against insects and rodents. Wash kitchen trash containers and put away soap, sponges, candles and other possible sources of food for vermin. Spray a long-lasting insecticide along baseboards and under the sink. Place insect traps under the sink and on kitchen counters and use chemical rodent deterrents under the sink and in the garage, too

Cape Cod experienced its first snow fall throughout today.  Provincetown received the brunt of the storm between 11 AM and 5 PM with totals between 5″ and 6″ .  Snow fall recorded by RKM Property Management in both the East and West end was about the same coming in at 5.5″ by 5:30 PM tonight.

The RKM Team was out in full force clearing homes, condominium associations, and businesses throughout the day and will continue plowing thru most of the night.

While reports indicated a “Light” and “Fluffy” snow, that certainly was not the case so close to the water.  The snow was wet, sticky, and very heavy -  I don’t know why I’m always suprised by that….

While the Town has been out in full force plowing all day, many cars with with front and/or back wheel drive did not fare so well, especially on Bradford street, as well as many of the side roads.  Over the course of two hours we passed the same very expensive Mercedes Benz stuck half way up the hill on Bradford Street by the Crown Point, as well as on Cottage Street, and then again down by West Vine.  The poor guy, after two hours and less than a mile distance abandoned his vehicle and walked to his destination.    Days like today make me grateful for 4 Wheel Drive.. …

A few pix of today’s snow and the RKM Team busy at work..

1. Turn off the main water-supply valve or stop the pump. If the furnace should fail on a very cold day, water in a pipe could freeze and burst the pipe. Open all faucets and drain all waterlines—empty or mainly empty pipes cannot burst from freezing water.
   • Pipes can be drained at their low-point drain valves or, if there is insufficient slope to the lines, by opening a pipe junction. If unsure if all water has drained from pipes, use an air compressor to blow out all water pipes.
2. Turn down the heat, but don’t turn it off. Keep it at about 58ºF/14ºC or so, in order to avoid problems with freezing plaster (which will crack in unsightly ways) and pipes.
   • Unless you’re using your summer vacation home for winter sports, you may want to consider not heating it at all if freezing problems are not an issue.
3. Drain. If you live in an area where freezing pipes can be a problem, drain toilets, water heater (turn off gas or electric supply first) and if on a well and pump system, the expansion tank. You’ll also need to completely eliminate or dilute the water in drain traps by pouring an “RV” type antifreeze solution in them as directed by the instructions.
   • RV antifreeze is commonly used to protect pipes from freezing in RVs and mobile homes; this antifreeze is a type that is safe for use in and around drinking water systems when used as directed. Never pour “regular” automotive antifreeze in the locations listed here.
   • Close the sink and tub drains.
   • If a house is to be vacant for a long time, you may prevent water in a toilet’s trap from evaporating (and thereby permitting sewer gases to enter the home) by raising the toilet’s lid and seat and covering the bowl with saran wrap.
   • Read How to turn off the water supply to a toilet for more information.