2007 Regatta

Hi,

This year’s Regatta is approaching quickly & we wanted to provide information & get some input.

It will be held as always on the August long weekend. Sunday from 1-5pm, Monday as an extreme weather date. Flyer will be sent by e-mail from the LLCA over the next week or so. The agenda will be posted closer to the date.

We will follow a similar format as last year- games for kids & adults, corn, burgs & dogs, prizes for the kids, lake stewardship info. Any suggestions for improvement welcome.

The event is lots of work but so worthwhile when you see how much fun both the kids & adults have.
Volunteers usually step-up on the day to help but it would really reduce the chaos to have more people confirmed in advance to help. Please e-mail me at vmccoy@rogers.com if you are willing to fill any of the following roles on the day;

First aid designate. Someone with training & a kit (can be anyone present or volunteer below)
Purchase Food (filled)
Photographer
Games judge & Hand out Ribbons
Arrival table – Check-in & pay-at-door (filled?)
Cook (filled)
Cook’s helper
Organize Garbage & Recycling (filled)
Game preparation
Prizes – Lay-out, call by age & supervise kids during selection
Set-up & clean-up crew
Someone to rake play area the day before

We are also struggling over what to do about a BBQ. In the past a large one has been rented but we don’t have a trailer hitch or the desire to return it on the long weekend. Last year, we loaned ours & the frame was bent so we won’t repeat that. Any ideas welcome.

The canoe & pie plate race is very popular but we always struggle to get canoes. If people could let us know that they are bringing one in advance – that would be great.

We had received a request to bring back the sailboat races which sounds fun. If someone steps forward to organize the event we can work it outside the existing schedule.

Once the schedule is finalized, we will post it on the blog & at the sign board the weekend of.

We hope to see you there.

Valerie

New Lake Sign at Turnaround

The new lake sign is taking shape at the turnaround and I have noticed a few have been unsupportive of the association's actions. Maybe some background on the necessary changes and rational may help.

In the summer of 2006 we had a couple of near misses at the old location of the lake sign with cars being parked beside the road; add kids on bikes and one car entering the lake and another leaving. To my knowledge, this scenario has played out at least twice and I feel it may more. I approached some people and asked if they would support me asking the association permission to look into moving the sign.

As I talked with the town and found we had no permit for the existing sign and therefore no by-law support for vandalism, I was also told the sign created a hazard for the town being too close to the road. A site inspection by the town in June 2006 approved the present construction site and its construction method.

The town issued a sign permit to the lake association and a site plan agreement for a road variance on July 26th. under Application # 06-23-S. We are to erect the new sign at the turn around where it is presently semi-erected and remove the old sign afterward.

We will be reattaching the 'welcome' banner from the old sign to the top of the new sign (after we spruce it up). The new sign is far enough away from the road for road servicing and allows cars to pull off to one side and read it without endangering others by blocking the road. We should see the sign completion by the end of this summer and I hope everyone can support this effort.

Don Hill

Bear Watch

E-mail recieved July 9/07

Steve & I are concerned about a very large bear we spotted on the road two weekends ago coming from someone's cottage. It was a Sunday night around 7:30 and was on the south side of the lake. To say it was large was an understatement. To say it was in any kind of hurry would be a lie. Quite frankly it made me very concerned about walking around the lake as I like to do once the bugs die down.
To further add to this story, on Saturday night at around 11:00 pm my daughter, who was in a bedroom facing the road came into our room concerned about a noise she was hearing. We went to her bedroom and heard a huge crashing noise. We realized it was our neighbors' very large metal garbage bin being thrashed about (they had left in the afternoon so their garbage was inside). It was unreal. This bin was being tossed like it weighed absolutely nothing. This went on for about 10-15 minutes and then stopped. In the morning we went to investigate only to find the bin half way down our neighbors' drive, upside down, wide open and empty. The claw marks, dents, and scratches were unreal. Garbage was nowhere to be found at the scene. We walked up to the ski-do trail and found the bag open and the contents strewn about.
To be clear, this bin must weigh over 200 pounds. Steve and another neighbor struggled to lift it and put it back in its place. Steve could not believe that it could have been thrown about so easily the night before. We can only assume it was a very large animal (read bear) that could have managed this.
I am not sure what one does with this information. This animal is very aggressive and quite frankly we are worried about it taking on something a little more delectable than a metal garbage bin.
Would love to know if anyone has any suggestions as to how we as a lake can deal with this issue, if in fact we can do anything at all. Would it be possible to have someone trap it and move it elsewhere? We are open for any ideas that folks may have.
Regards,


Joanne Leeder
1286 Lakeshore Rd South