We have the proverbial good news/bad news to report this month.

The good news is that the only adverse information is about the security gate. The bad news is there is no good news to report about the security gate, which is currently inoperable. How's that for an opening?

On Sunday, January 23, the gate worked as designed all day. That is, until about 7 o'clock in the evening. Suddenly it would no longer rise when a resident's gate pass was used, although the screen showed "access granted". I drove to the gate when called and attempted to use my pass, and again it would not work. I had just entered the gate several hours earlier and it worked then. Because the gate wouldn't work, I removed the bar until we could get a technician here to determine the problem.

Roger inspected the gate mechanisms the weekend of January 29 and discovered what appeared to be two defective ROM chips. He's awaiting replacements to see if that is the actual cause of the gate malfunctioning.

The following day, several women were working in the flowerbed circle near the front entrance when a cement truck drove toward the exit at what they described as a fast speed. The cement boom dispenser struck the raised gate bar and tore it from its holder.

Thereafter, Roger telephoned the Arnold Ready Mix Company, was able to identify the driver, and that firm has paid for the damages caused to the gate. Reportedly, this is the second occasion the same driver has damaged a gate protecting a subdivision. The company paid a $250 fine, so it was not necessary to notify the sheriff about the damage.

The second week of January I noted skid marks on South Lakeshore Drive, near our home, and there was evidence a car skidded into the embankment at that location. A man who lives nearby told me he had just arrived home, during darkness, when he could hear a car that was obviously speeding, and then heard the crash. Upon running to the scene, he discovered a severely damaged car, and both front airbags had deployed. The driver was the only occupant of the car, and he received a facial cut. The man was able to back his car onto the road and found one front tire had been flattened. He replaced that tire with the spare and quickly drove away, saying he had to get to South St. Louis. The driver said he didn't want the sheriff notified of the accident. In fact, there was no need to do that since no damage occurred to lake property and none to any personal property.

I'm told a resident was able to write the license plate number, but no one has reported that information to me,

As soon as Roger is able to get a representative here from Security Control, we hope to have the gate repaired.