UPDATE: Mini horses rehab in Methuen after rescue

Food and shelter were hard to come by just last week for the 32 miniature horses rescued from a small farm in West Boylston. Now, 19 of the horses are being treated at Nevins Farm in Methuen for malnourishment and other ailments after their owner voluntarily surrendered them.








These were some of the before photos of the Miniature horses when they arrived at Nevins Farm in Methuen:

Rails-to-trails video: Is it Safe?

Is It Safe? from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on Vimeo.

Grassroots Go-Ahead: Massachusetts Communities Take On Their Rail-Trail Ambitions

Undeterred by all the debate about trail funding at the federal level, local communities continue to let their trail-building actions do the talking.

Flicking through local newspapers out of Massachusetts during the past week, it is great to see local agencies and community groups rolling the sleeves up to advance their rail-trail ambitions. This grassroots energy speaks volumes about the demand across America for trail networks and bike and pedestrian infrastructure that better serve residents and local businesses.

In the state's northeast, the Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee has launched a mile-marker sponsorship program to fund the maintenance and improvement of the Danvers Rail Trail. The advisory committee is a town-appointed group that has directed development of the 4.3-mile rail-trail since the town of Danvers leased the corridor from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 2008.

Aware of the trail's tremendous recreational importance to the town, the citizens of Danvers have responded enthusiastically. A wide variety of locally owned businesses--everything from a hardware store and a beer company to a fish market, a photography business, even a dental-care practice--have paid $150 for a 4-inch by 4-inch marker along the trail, or $500 for a 4-inch by 8-inch marker in prime locations. Each blue-and-white decal (above) bears the sponsor's name, logo and dedication message. Local families have made generous contributions, too.

The homegrown energy behind the trail extends even further; the markers were prepared and installed by volunteers, and the initial cost of the posts and mileage decals was paid for by a local advocacy group, the Danvers Bi-Peds. 

The new fundraising effort has so far generated about $4,100 to help realize the town's immediate plans for the trail, which include improving the trail surface in some sections with a compacted top coat of crushed-stone dust, and improving a boggy section north of Wenham Street.

About 30 miles to the west, in the town of Concord, town officials are discussing how to bring the growing Bruce Freeman Rail Trail into their community.

Following the 25-mile route of the former New Haven Railroad's Framingham and Lowell line, the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail currently encompasses Lowell, Chelmsford and Westford. Having observed the popularity of the trail in those communities, the residents of Concord, and nearby Acton, voted to approve plans to extend the trail. Sudbury and Framingham, farther to the southwest, are also eager to develop the rail corridor into a connecting trail in their townships.

And today, the city of Newburyport is celebrating the beginning of a much sought-after project to connect the Old Eastern Marsh Trail and the Clipper City Rail Trail (above).

For proof that this project that will greatly please local residents and businesses, look no further than the list of guests of honor at the launch-- Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Richard A. Davey, state Rep. Michael Costello, and state Sen. Steven Baddour.

With Newburyport's and Salisbury's rail-trails booming in popularity, a safety issue emerged for those wanting to cross Route 1 at the northern end of the Gillis Bridge, to pass from one rail-trail to the other. Work on the connection, which will unlock a great expansion in the region's trail network, is expected to start in mid-March.

Photo of the Danvers Rail Trail sponsored mile-marker courtesy of the Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee.
Photo of the Clipper City Rail Trail courtesy of Geordie Vining/TrailLink.com.

Belfast, Maine, Pushes Ahead With Rail-Trail Along Key Corridor

Congratulations to the community of Belfast along Maine's central coast for its determined strides recently toward developing a new rail-trail.

Town officials said last month they are ready to go ahead and build a walking and recreation trail along a 3.5-mile, 100-foot-wide rail right-of-way between the Armistice footbridge in downtown Belfast and the Waldo town line to the northeast.

According to a story in Waldo Village Soup, Belfast council voted in 2010 to purchase the right-of-way along approximately three miles of the old Belfast and Moosehead Lake rail corridor for $200,000, with the intention of creating a multi-purpose trail.

Despite widespread demand for the transportation and recreation benefits that rail-trails invariably bring, there has been some opposition to the city's proposal from a handful of residents who own land along the corridor. Landowners have expressed unfounded fears that a trail close to their property would increase vandalism, crime and dumping.

To its credit, the city has not let threats of legal action by landowners dissuade it from building the community resource, inspired by the tremendous success of rail-trails in similar-sized communities across the region.

When complete, the rail-trail will add much more than its own three miles to the region's trail network. The corridor will link several preserves on the west side of the Passagassawakeag River, which are managed by the Camden-based Coastal Mountains Land Trust (CMLT). CMLT has pledged $100,000 toward the city's land purchase expenses related to building the trail.

The rail-trail will also connect to the planned Belfast Harbor Walk, which is slated to stretch from the Armistice footbridge south along the water to Steamboat Landing.

Carl Knoch, manager of trail development for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Northeast Regional Office, visited Belfast in the fall of 2010 and was struck by the great potential of the corridor.

"There really isn't anything like it in that region," he says. "It is fantastic to see the city acting so decisively to provide an amenity that will do so much for many residents and businesses."

Photos by Carl Knoch/RTC.

HBO cancels 'Luck' after third horse death

HBO has pulled the plug on its gambling drama "Luck" after controversy erupted over the deaths of three horses during production.

“It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series 'Luck,' ” the network said in a statement.

The statement continues: “Safety is always of paramount concern.  We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures.  While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future.  Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision."

The network will air the rest of the first season’s episodes but will not continue with the second season, which had been ordered.

“Luck” was a high-profile bet for HBO. It starred Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte and was shot on location at the Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. HBO made the unusual move of renewing the show for a second season after the first episode of the series premiered earlier this year.

However, the ratings for “Luck” were low, and although critics praised the show's artistry, its slow story lines were a frustration to many viewers.

Mann and Milch offered the following statement: “The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers.  This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”