President's Message, by Bruce Bassett
Why join DLPOA? We, your directors and officers, work hard to protect our lake, our way of life and property values. By joining Deer lake Property Owners' Association and contributing your dues and time safeguards your investment for the future.
Some of our past accomplishments have been the purchase of 20 acres north of the narows to protect water quality; installation of two miles of guardrails on Southwood Shores Road for safety; continuous work with Stevens County to improve roads around the lake; two roadside clean-ups a year to maintain a clean environment; alleviated flood problems by working with the PUD and removing tons of debris and soil in the runoff ditch allowing floodwaters to drain.
We purchased a patrol boat to regularly patrol our waters for everyone's safety and have set aside funds for Milfoil problems should the need arise. We do extensive water quality testing in conjunction with the DOE; and we are looking into a fireboat to protect those homes not easily reached by fire trucks.
I could keep going, but I think you understand the need for your commitment and dollars. We will continue to work hard for you and we appreciate your support.
Eurasian Milfoil Challenge, by Mike Phillips
Milfoil is an aquatic weed that grows in some bodies of water here in Washington as well as Idaho and other areas. Although we have not found the weed in Deer Lake up to this point, it can very easily spread to our lake at any time. The most common way it is spread from one lake or river to another is by boat or boat trailer. A small piece of the weed attached to a boat or trailer can come loose in our lake and we will have the weed. Our neighbors in Loon Lake have been fighting an expensive and time consuming battle to rid their lake of this weed and treatments are still on going.
Please do your part by reporting any sighting of the weed and clean your trailers and boats before they are put into Deer Lake.
Spring Cleanup & Chilli Feed
Perhaps you've noticed the new "Adopt a Roadway" signs on the roads that lead to and from our lake. They are the result of our Association joining the Stevens County litter control program. DLPOA adopted a network of just over 26 miles of roads that has been traditionally taken care of in our past cleanup projects.
In return, the County provides litter bags, free disposal of the collected litter, roadside litter crew warning signs, safety vests, first aid kits and pickup tools. Our commitment is to pick up litter from these roadsides twice a year, and it has been a tradition to combine this pickup with a free chili feed.
This year's spring cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, May 19. The signs will be set out early so volunteers can start on their selected section whenever they want. The chili feed with start at 11AM.
We would like to coordinate volunteer signup with the use of the map and list of roads on page 3 of the newsletter (regretfully, though, not in this electronic edition). Find the road segment you would like to clean up and call Mike Phillips @ 233-2510, for the West side, and Pam and Tim Dschaak @ 233-2901 for the East side. As the calls come in we will track what roads are in need of volunteers.
As we already have the hauling organized, we are not in need of haulers, but we really need as many litter pickers as possible. The starting points will be at the fire station on the East side and Deer Lake Resort on the West side, where you can pick up your bags, safety vests, etc.
Large litter and filled bags are to be left on the roadside for pickup. Do not take anything to the transfer station. Please call and volunteer.
Signs at Deer Lake, by Larry Twitchell
Most of you reading this, know your way around the Deer Lake area pretty well. You don't need signs to tell you where to turn or how far it is to your destination. You're comfortable. It's only when you try to give directions to someone or you are new to the area that the difficulties of direction become paramount. The problem in a nutshell is how does someone unfamiliar with the area find East Deer Lake road from Highway 395? The North Deer Lake Road is clearly marked from 395; the East road is not.
To rectify this and other issues relating to our local signs, the Deer Lake Property Owners Association is taking the following action:
If you have any comments or feel we have missed anything, please contact Larry Twitchell at 233-2485.
Membership, by Dean Crump
The Deer Lake Property Owners Board says "Thank You" to all of you that have sent in your 2001 dues and contributions. Once again we have enclosed a self addressed envelope for the convenience and as a reminder for those who haven't yet sent their dues in.
Becoming a member is your invitation to be involved with your neighbors and freiends to help improve Deer Lake, have a say in issues that concern you, and receive the newsletter. The Board of Directors meetings are open to everyone and are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7PM at the Loon Lake Elementary School.
If I can answer any questions or be of assistance, feel free to contact me at 233-2081, or email at deerlakeresort@sisna.com, or fax at 233-8062.
Woodcutting, but Virgil Standerfer
The woodcutting season is just around the corner and we should start thinking about getting a supply of firewood for the next winter season.
I am going to try to get an earlier start for the permit date this year in the event it gets too dry and we are shut down this year as we were for a period last year.
I hope to have a firm starting date soon, so for questions and arrangements, call me at 233-9178.
Fisheries, by Bruce Bassett
Did you notice the size of the Brookies last Fall? They are getting to be 17 plus inches!
The summer batch of Brook Trout was released from my pen early by someone other than myself. Our fall batch of 10,000 is doing great and should be 8 inches by April 1st when I will release them.
Jim Santora's Rainbows are in perfect condition and he received a bonus so he will have more than 15,000 to release.
Our property at the end of the narrows is a great filter for our lake and a spawning bed for Spiny Rays. We are working on selling this property to US Fish and Wildlife to allow them to enhance the creek beds which would allow Rainbow, Brook and Silvers to spawn as they used to years ago. We do not have the funds or ability to accomplish this ourselves. They have already put 16 steps in the creek and have dug 2 ponds to revitalize the creek, but cannot spend money on private property such as ours.
I will keep you informed of the progress in this transaction.
Personal Water Craft, by Larry Nokes
In an continuing effort to control the improper use of personal water craft and boats on the lake, DPOLA is providing laminated rules and regulations for PWC and boats. This is a good way to correct improper use of these crafts.
Many of the problems are a result of lack of knowledge. By having homeowners post a set of rules near the beach as well as having them ask all craft owners to read the rules, it may resolve some problems.
If you would like one or more sets of these rules, please call me at 233-2088 and we will provide them. Lets have a safe and courteous summer at our beautiful lake.
Fourth of July Celebration, by Larry Nokes
The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the freedoms this great country affords us as citizens and at beautiful Deer Lake we have much to celebrate. This year we would like to increase our sense of community starting with a boat parade around the lake with brightly lighted and decorated boats, ending with a community sponsored fireworks display in mid-lake.
DLPOA has committed funds to the fireworks display and we are hoping to match them with donations. If you spend an amount of money for fireworks, consider donating a portion to the community display to make a "big splash" mid-lake. The display will be professionally done by licensed technicians and should be great. As you all know, the more we spend the more spectacular the display.
Any suggestions would be welcome and feel free to call with questions, or to register for the parade. The starting point for the parade will be the Deer Lake Resort at about 8PM but feel free to join in at any time. The fireworks will start about 10PM so we will have about two hours for parading and getting to a good vantage point for the big show.
Lets all chip in and make this work for the community. Refer all questions, donations, and suggestions to Larry Nokes, 3860 N. Deer Lake Road, Loon Lake, Wa 99148
Deer Lake Fireboat, by Dean Crump
In our January Board meeting we had a lively discussion on the pros and cons of a fireboat for the lake.
PROS:
CONS:
The cost was estimated at $175,000 which was felt that most would come from grants. The annual cost of operations were estimated at between $250 to $300. A committee has been set up to confirm the costs and other pertinent information on this project.
Your opinions and ideas would be appreciated. Please send them in, call, or come to the next meeting to express your views.
WWW.DLPOA.COM - by Dennis DeMattia
Did you know that for over a year, DLPOA has had its own web site? Fellow Geeks I am sure are saying, Long Overdue, Dude! A much larger group of home owners out there are probably wondering why we need one, and who would care.
There are 800 houses on or near Deer Lake. Of that number, two thirds have newsletter mailing addresses Not in the 99148 zip code, which means that at least 600 families that get this newsletter do not live at Deer Lake year round. We (myself included) use our aqueous abodes mainly as a summer house, maybe even as a winter weekend retreat. But even if we have been going up here for years, generations perhaps, how many of us really know what facilities are available in the surrounding community 100 ft off the water's edge?
So what? you might ask. I am here to ski and tan and let it all hang out. But, what happens when your sink pipes break? What are the garbage dump hours? (Is there a garbage dump? Where is it even located?) Where can I go for an ice cream cone? Where are the churches, and when are their services? How can I sell my house? Can I rent a house on the lake? Who can fix my refrigerator (I still haven't answered that one)? Where is a good place to go for dinner in the area? Who are the DLPOA officers? How can I get a back issue of the DLPOA newsletter? What is the weather going to be like at the lake this weekend? Is there a map of Four Corners? How do you tell your out of state friends how to get to the Deer Lake area? What does Milfoil look like?
It is for questions like these that we decided to put together a web site. It can be updated instantly, so it can always have up to date information on whatever topic we think of including. It may have answers to questions you did not even know you had (the church issue, for instance). It can be a community watering hole, where people can share information on who their favorite plumber is, how to get the stove fixed, or to just have a place to share their favorite pictures of the lake area.
The site is infinitely extensible. If anybody thinks of a topic that we have missed, let us know, and we will try to add it. If anybody has any suggestions (a good electrician's name would be real helpful) we can add it to the appropriate list.
Even our Cyber Phobic readers can help out. So far, everything on the site came from either the local phone book, my own experiences, or Mike Phillips (DLPOA secretary). I would love to have other people submit material for incorporation into the site. We need photos of the area. (If you do not have a digital camera or a scanner, contact me and we can get them scanned for you). We need back issues of the DLPOA newsletter - so far I have only been able to find issues from about four years back, and I would love to have a complete file from 1990 on. If you can send me copies, I will transcribe them and send them back to you. Who fixes your appliances? Where do you go to find a widget? Who built your house (and who keeps on adding to it)? Pretty much, if it is not something that will get us sued or tossed in jail, I will be happy to add it to our site.
One last bit of trivia - the web aware readers out there will observe that we have a .com domain name, and not a .org, which is what we should be using. The answer is, we didn't get there first. The Donner Lake POA in California did, so we had to settle for next best. I would very much like to have our site be the best, however, and for that, I need everybody's help. Please visit the site, use the site, and add material to the site. You can submit material or contact me at
N4906 Northwood Dr, Spokane, Wa 99212 - demattia (at) acm.org - 926-8848