October 2002

ANNUAL MEETING 

The next Annual Meeting of the Association will be held on January 7, 2003. At this meeting, residents will elect nine members to serve on the Board of directors, one of which will serve as the Association President. Residents desiring to submit nomination(s) must submit a written request containing the signatures of at least three (3) residents supporting the nominations to: 

Springlakes Community Association, Inc. 
Attn: Nominating Committee 
P.O. Box 211112 
Martinez, GA 30917-1112 

This year’s nominating committee chairperson is Beth Frits. Contact Beth (refer to Springlakes directory) if you have any questions. Nominations must be delivered to the Nominating Committee at the above address on or before November 30, 2002 to be considered at the annual meeting.

SPRINGLAKES GARDEN CLUB CALLING ALL PLANT LOVERS!! 

Did you know some of your neighbors are trying something new—a garden club! We would like all interested gardeners to come help us organize and man a fun club. The club will include plant exchanges, plant information, yard awards, food socials and even guest speakers. 

Our next meeting will be: Sunday, November 3rd, 4 pm, @ the Clubhouse. 

Ya’ll come and have fun!

SOCIAL 

Many Thanks to all who attended the Springlakes Annual Neighborhood Picnic. This year’s picnic was a huge success,. Thanks to all the extra residents helping. Mike Frits did an excellent job handling the 1st annual Springlakes Green Jacket Golf Tournament. 

DAVE ENGWALL WON THE “SPRINGLAKES GREEN JACKET”

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY 

The annual Springlakes Children’s Christmas Party will be held Sunday, December 8th from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the Clubhouse. There will be crafts, refreshments, and a visit from Santa. Make your reservations with Kristi Baker (refer to printed Springlakes directory).

HALLOWEEN FUN...AND SAFETY!!! 

We want all the families of Springlakes to have a spook-tacular night of trick or treating this year. Due to the large increase in foot and car traffic on Halloween night, we would like to remind everyone to exercise extra caution as you drive your golf carts and automobiles in the neighborhood. Children are excited and may not think to look both ways before they dart out into the street. 

Parents, please encourage your children to wear reflective clothing and carry a flashlight to ensure better visibility from approaching vehicles. The use of face paint instead of masks will also provide a wider range of vision for the children and may help prevent accidents. 

Residents who plan to welcome trick or treaters should turn on their porch and other outdoor lights to illuminate their house and walkways. We ask that trick or treaters only visit houses that are well lighted and respect the privacy of residents who do not want to participate in this holiday. 

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

SPRINGLAKES OUT TO LUNCH BUNCH 

Nov 12 —– Monterrey ( Washington Rd/Evans) 
Dec 10 — French Market (Surrey Ctr.) 

The Springlakes “Lunch Bunch” would like to invite all interested ladies to join us for lunch the second Tuesday of every month. This is a great way for new residents to meet their neighbors and for old friends to catch up. The lunch bunch meets at ll:30 am. Please contact Sheila Pedraza (refer to your printed Springlakes directory) to arrange for seating ahead of time.

FOUND 

Prescription reading glasses with the case near Tennis Courts. Call (refer to newsletter for phone #) if you think they may be yours.

NEW CHANGES TO BOAT LAUNCH 

In the past it has been necessary to turn around on the grass in order to launch boats. This has resulted in the replacement of many sprinkler heads and damaged park equipment. We have now cleared off an area large enough to turn boats around. We would please ask that you use the cleared area from now on when launching your boat. You can now back your boat across the grass without causing damage. 

THANKS!

SPRINGLAKES.ORG WEBSITE — AN OVERVIEW 

Did you know that you can find out almost anything you wanted to know about Springlakes just by visiting the Springlakes Community Association website? Since its inception in the fall of 2000, a great deal of effort has been made to keep it up-to-date and informative. So be sure to checkout the rest of the website and let us know what you think. 

The following is an overview of the key features of the Springlakes website. Future articles will provide more in-depth information about particular sections. 

Help
First time visitors are encouraged to first review the “Help” page for useful tips on using the website most effectively. 

What’s New?
For frequent visitors, we have included a “What’s New?” page that highlights the latest website updates so that you can find new information quickly. 

Contact Us
The Contact Us page lists the names & email addresses of the Springlakes Association officers & chairpersons. You will also find a convenient list of phone numbers of various utility providers, schools and county services. 

Committees
Each committee has its own section in the website. Visit each one to learn more about what they have to offer. You will also find the name & email address of each committee chairperson. Residents are encouraged to contact the applicable chairperson with comments or questions that relate to their committee. 

Spotlight on Springlakes
When good things are said about Springlakes, we like to promote it on the website. Numerous newspaper articles have been written about Springlakes and its residents. Visit the Spotlight On Springlakes section for links to these articles. 

Newsletters
Electronic versions of our newsletters are also included on the website. Looking for back issues of the newsletter? We have included them as well! 

Password Protected Sections
The Springlakes budget & teen services sections are both password protected to prevent general public from gaining easy access. For your convenience, the password is distributed to all Springlakes residents via our printed newsletter. As such, it is not tightly controlled. We do ask that you do not purposefully distribute the password outside of our community. Periodically, the password will be changed and you will be notified via the printed newsletter. 

Have Any Website Suggestions, Questions or Comments?
Springlakes residents are encouraged to submit any suggestions, questions or comments regarding the website. On the Contact Us page, you will find email addresses for the Association Manager and President as well as for each of the committee chairpersons. So let us know what you would like to see on the website. What features would make the website more useful to you?

LAKE REPORT 

The weather is getting cooler and it’s good to see more residents out enjoying the lake. By the way, have you all met our newest resident? She is a full-grown, domestic goose. You need to beware if she approaches. She won’t leave you alone!! If she sees you on the lake, she swims alongside to your boat until you leave. Her nickname is Lucy—Lucy Goosey!! She is a very very gentle bird—she even likes to have her back scratched, just like a dog or cat. Welcome to Springlakes, Lucy. 

Fishing is still sporadic, but I have been “skunked” only once since mid September. I’ve even caught a couple of crappie, a sure sign that the cooler weather is on the way!! Speaking of crappie, Hugh Marberry’s fishing partner, Terry, caught a 16 ½ inch crappie around Labor Day. That’s a keeper by anyone’s standard!! 

Speaking of fishing partners, my partner, Ron Gooding, is a Sergeant who is stationed here at Ft. Gordon. Prior to military life, he was an aquatics manager at an environmental management services firm out of Charleston, SC. I asked him to assess our lake, now that it appears to be clearing up. 

The following is his summary: 
“As fall comes near, the lake will begin to clear, and the cooler weather forces the lake life into a dormant state. Don’t be fooled by the cleaner appearance as potential problems still lurk beneath. Springlakes has been clear from major aquatic weed problems for some time now. However, the recent heavy rains have flooded infected areas up stream and has caused a wash of noxious aquatic weeds (weeds deemed illegal to sell or transport because of the prolific rate of reproduction) down into your lake. There has been an infestation into the lake of DUCKWEED, WATER HYACINTH, PENNYWORT, COONTAIL and various ALGAE'S. 

The best news for Springlakes is that the lake is continuously fed and draining. This continuous flow of water keeps stagnation from occurring and assists in the control of PLANK TONIC ALGAE (a poisonous algae that resembles split pea soup in appearance). The only algae that Springlakes has to contend with is PETHOFFERA (a dark brown or black algae that floats up after a heavy rain). Only if the lake gets infested with pethoffera should you have to treat it. As weeds go, the major problem has been COONTAIL and DUCKWEED. Coontail is the bushy weed that clogs your trolling motors and entangles your fishing lures and is a problem all year round. It can be controlled by sterile grass carp. This fish will eat almost all-aquatic vegetation with the coontail being one of their favorites. 

Duckweed is the green tiny leaf plant that forms a skim-like covering over the lake. Duckweed is extremely prolific. It multiplies at a rapid rate (approximately 16 times per day). The solution for this lake is easy. Let the wind work for you. By keeping the trash from in front of the dam cleared out, the wind will blow the duckweed out with no cost. 

Pennywort is a vine-like creeper starting around the shoreline which can overtake the embankments and spread across the lake if left untreated. Each person can help control this by merely removing the weed with a rake and dispose of with your normal yard debris. 

The last and one of the most problematic plants is WATER HYACINTH. Water Hyacinth is a pitcher type plant with a beautiful purple flower rising from its’ pitchers. The problem is that people use these plants (much like all the fore mentioned plants) as decorations for private ponds. The result is a fast spreading noxious plant that could cost several thousands of dollars to treat. In summary, before you put that plant in your backyard decorative pond, consider the effects of a flood.” 

Ron can be reached for question or comments at rongooding@yahoo.com. Cofield Pond update: The pond is full, but the paperwork is not finalized. We cannot start the scheduled work on the spillway, landscaping, etc. until it is legally ours. Maybe we will have better news next time.

COVENANTS 

The cooler weather is finally upon us. Now is the ideal time to spruce up your yard before the Holidays arrive (less than 70 shopping days till Christmas!!!) Please remove fallen limbs, prune and cut back bushes for the winter, weed natural areas, and edge along the curb. Remove spent summer annuals and replace them with colorful pansies and other seasonal flowers. As the leaves start to fall, please remember to rid your yard of them responsibly — outside burning is prohibited! Remember not to let bags full of leaves accumulate where they can be seen from the street. We in Springlakes enjoy a beautiful and well manicured neighborhood. Let’s all do what we can to continue to keep it that way. 

The Covenants committee has received numerous calls recently regarding pets in the neighborhood. We cannot stress enough that you must keep your pets (dogs and cats) on a leash when walking, and always, always, always remember to clean up after your pet. Please let’s act responsibly and show consideration for our neighbors when walking our pets. 

The Covenants Committee meets the third Tuesday of every month to discuss project proposals and violations. Please contact the committee if you are planning a project that will change the exterior of your home. We always do our best to work with our neighbors.

WELCOME NEWEST RESIDENTS