December 2004 Security Report

Perhaps some people on the south side were wondering if their trash was going to be collected on November 29, the first day on which collections were started again on Monday. The driver collected from some of the homes, but then decided to drive into the Forest, thinking there were additional cans to be emptied. There weren't, because property owners bring their trash to the end of the road. As the driver attempted to negotiate a turn to get back to South Lakeshore, his truck became mired in the mud and was stuck for several hours, until a large wrecker could be brought to the lake and dislodge the truck. As a result, some of the people beyond Mohawk Trail didn't get their trash picked up until much later in the week. Fortunately, Kenny Marschuetz was home that day because of the inclement weather, and when he observed the truck was about to overturn, he may have saved the driver from serious injuries when he convinced him to get clear of his truck.

Also, during the week of November 29, maybe some homeowners saw the trucks and workmen from J.T. Electric Company. I thought they were trimming trees alongside the roads, but when I stopped and inquired from the foreman, he told me they were contractors for Ameren UE, and his workers were installing switches and fusing on the electric poles. These are designed to cause less outage when problems occur here at the lake, and if trees fall and take down the lines. Instead of entire areas being without electricity, Ameren UE will be able to pinpoint the outages and provide repairs more quickly. The foreman did tell me that there are a number of tree limbs near our telephone lines, which do need trimming, but the electric company would be responsible for this.

On November 20, a resident informed me some youths drove off the road and into the creek, which feeds lake, about 1:50 a.m. The caller was unable to provide a description of the vehicle. They then were heard leaving that area about 2:50 a.m., and seen driving past the community house and onto North Lakeshore. I was notified about this some I2-14 hours after the occurrence.

We have again had several breaches of our gate. On November 30 I arrived back at the lake about I 1 p.m. and noticed someone using a wrench had removed the gate, and the board had been placed alongside the guard shack. I don't know the reason for this.

The following weekend the gate was broken several times. We are attempting to determine the responsible parties for most of these damages. However, Roger was able to identify one individual who broke the gate during daylight hours because he could not reach a homeowner where firewood was to be delivered. That individual admitted his culpability and has paid the lake $75.00 to cover damage costs.

Finally, I'd like to encourage everyone to complete the forms, which were in the last newsletter, so we can re-align our files with respect to gate cards, and then delete those cards, which are not in the hands of either property owners or others authorized to use them.

If anyone needs a form to complete the desired information, please contact me.

We've received no information about any vandalism or criminal mischief, other than someone continues to remove the signs on our entrance road, warning drivers of the dangerous curve. Ed Melchior is kind enough to replace the sign. If anyone has knowledge of who has removed this sign four times in the past month, I'd appreciate hearing from them.