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Community Corner

Mud Bog Event Gets Go-Ahead

Board of Selectmen okays mud bog truck event; disregards fraudulent letter of complaint.

They've got the green light and now they're ready to rumble.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, from noon until 5 p.m.,  will be hosting a truck/mud bog event on its grounds at 43 Lower Butcher Rd. Truck owners and mud bog enthusiasts are invited to enjoy some down and dirty fun by attempting to drive their trucks through a 20' wide by 160' long mud pit. There is no charge to attend, but donations are welcomed.

According to Brent Moser, owner of Valley Truck, a service center that specializes in off-roading maintenance, the company regularly invites friends and customers on weekends to try out the mud bog. Last year they held a mud bog event that drew close to 250 participants. This year, he said he is expecting an even larger crowd.

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"There's a lot of interest in these events. People love to watch. Farmers do them and fairgrounds do them. They're held all over the country," said Moser. "There's no racing, no high speed driving, no competition with trophies [at our event]," he said, adding that while many people will travel long distances to various mud bogging competitions, some locals don't have the money to do so and holding the event locally gives everyone a chance to have fun while providing some added promotion for their business.

"People love to look in our showroom and shop," said Moser. "There's also a rock crawl course where people get to drive over different obstacles." 

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In July, the First Selectman's Office published a public notice that the board would be considering the issuance of a Special Event License for the event at its Aug. 15 meeting. The notice invited residents and others to submit advance comments for consideration to the First Selectman's Office.

At the meeting, First Selectman Maurice Blanchette noted an Aug. 7 letter his office received which called into question whether the mud bog should be considered a "pond" and, if so, how the town might handle any potential motor vehicular contamination or if they should even allow driving through it. The letter also included a complaint about late night noise and safety concerns at the previous year's event.

There was, however, one problem with the letter.

Although the typed letter indicated that it was written and signed by neighbor, Joseph Lapointe of 64 Lower Butcher Rd., when Resident State Trooper Sgt. William Konieczny followed up with him about it, Lapointe claimed he was not the author of the letter and that the indecipherable signature did not belong to him.

"Someone wrote a letter, but it wasn't Mr. Lapointe," said Konieczny when contacted. "You don't run across this kind of thing very often. I just called to verify the facts and went to meet with the gentleman."

Konieczny said Lapointe expressed having no issues with the previous year's event and had watched what had transpired from his porch across the street.

"It was very well run last year. All the events [Valley Truck has] held are on private property and have been well organized. It's also on a road with low to moderate traffic and they will not be serving alcohol," said Konieczny, adding that while the event last year was not large enough to assign a state trooper, they did stop in to check on things periodically and expect to follow the same course of action this year.

Konieczny said Moser had contacted his office in advance about the event and had expressed appreciation that troopers stopped by from time to time during the day.

"Disregard this letter, please," Blanchette advised selectmen at the meeting. "We received a fraudulent complaint - a first for me. We have no idea who sent this letter," he said.

The board voted unanimously to issue the Special Event License contingent upon approval of pertinent town agencies.

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