On September 2, the Probate Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard signed a Consent Decree which gives the go ahead to the Trustees of the Hooper Trust to see secure a Conservation Easement and sell the Hooper Land. This Consent Decree was negotiated between the Trustees of the Hooper Trust (Select Board) and the Office of Charitable Trusts of the Attorney General’s Office. The Judge reviewed the decree, had no questions and accepted the decree in less than four minutes.

The Citizens of Walpole can be very proud of their support. The work on this project started in November 2011 when the Hooper Study Committee was appointed. It is your positive attitude and now financial support that has gotten us to this point. The Hooper Preservation Fund will now complete its fund raising – we have less than $100,000 to raise to reach our goal, buy the Easement and pay all the expenses of the project. While we work to complete our part, the Select Board as Trustees of the Hooper Trust will work toward a sale of the entire property. The Easement and the sale must be simultaneous as ordered by the Court. With the green light from the court we will work to finish by the end of the year!

A sincere thanks to the entire community for sticking with us for all these months…………we are almost there!