(Ed note -- this newsletter is actually considered Vol 2 of 2004)
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE By Larry Nokes
As spring hits full stride it's really exciting to see the lake come to life. Flowers blooming, birds back and singing and the inevitable winter clean-up. With regard to clean-up, two important dates need to be put on your calendar. Our annual Spring road clean-up takes place on May 22. Pick a chunk of road, clean it and Join all the other pickers for chili or spaghetti at the fire station.
The other major clean-up is. Deer Lake Dock Demo Day III. Scheduled for June 19th it is a great opportunity to dispose of that old dock for $2.00 per foot. Abandoned docks can be brought for demolition for no charge. Volunteers to help with the towing of the docks and the demolition are needed, so if you can spare the time to help please call to sign up at 233-2088 (Larry Nokes). The demo work will take place at the Gardner Acres boat ramp on the west side of the lake.
Please try to help on one or both of these clean-up efforts. Remember, keeping our lake and surrounding roads takes a true community effort.
Another thing for you to consider is becoming a DLPOA director. It appears there will be a couple of vacancies on the board in. June and new members will hopefully be elected at the June 12 annual meeting. Following is a brief description of the responsibilities and obligations of a board member:
If you are interested in becoming a board member, please mail a brief resume with work experience to DLPOA. If you have any questions feel free to contact any board member.
Please be aware that we'll be sending proposed revised bylaws for ratification at the annual meeting. Please read them carefully and be prepared to vote.
Thanks, in advance, for your help in the clean-up and demo days and I will be looking forward to seeing a great turnout at the annual meeting on June 12th.
DEER LAKE CLEANUP AND CHILI FEED By Mike Phillips
It's almost that time of year when we can see that our roadsides and shorelines are a mess! We need your help to clean these areas. DLPOA is associated with the Stevens County "adopt a road" cleanup system, and we are responsible for the twice yearly cleanup of the roads around Deer Lake. The shoreline cleanup is another way we can help keep our lake clean and pristine.
There will be the usual chili feed following the cleanup. It will be held at the Deer Lake Fire Dept. on the east side of the lake. The cleanup starts as early as you would like on Saturday, Mav 22nd. If you can't make it that day, you could clean sometime during the week ending on the 22nd. For more information on which areas need cleaning, please call Mike Phillips (233-2510) west side or Johh Gregerson (233-8419) east side. .Bags will be available at the fire station on the east side and at Deer Lake Resort on the west side.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE AND WHEN THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED?
THE LAKE
Deer Lake, larger, deeper, colder and at a higher elevation than it's more populated neighbor, Loon Lake, is situated in a beautifully forested basin gouged out by the glacial movement of an ancient ice-age.
The old Indian trail to the east passed just north of the lake, and records show the earliest fur traders and prospectors trod its shore. Then came the lumbermen and the homesteaders: Meyera, Barrow, Gardners, Dressers and others.
Along about the turn of the century the great gray trout from the Straits of Mackinaw on the Great Lake was introduced by Corbin (Corbin Park Spokane) and flourished in the cold depths. Sixty years ago, "Macks" of 30# to 40#, going up to 50 inches and better in length were common. Natives fished thru the ice for whitefish and sold their catch smoked or fresh on the Spokane market. Shorelines abounded with largemouth bass and off the weedbeds were perch and sunfish by the score.
Roads were something else! It was really not until after WWII that a year around road could be for sure. As late as 1939 the local kids used to have a "mud holiday" every spring. Nothing much more mechanical that a horse could get thru during the peak of the that and run-off.
Resorts in the vicinity of what is now Haney's and about where the Nazarene Church Camp is presently located, were the first "boat hostels". Population pressure on Deer Lake grew more slowly than on Loon because of access. One could get to Loon by train. It took some doing to get in to Deer Lake.
ARCADIA ORCHARDS
It was shortly after the turn of the century that the big scheme of apple orchards, located in the Deer Park flats, was promoted. The whole stock scheme was dependent to a major degree upon irrigation water from Deer Lake. You can still see the irrigation flume diggings if you walk along the outlet stream of the lake today. (Just west of Styman's Resort)
The Arcadia Orchard scheme folded after a few years because they were right in that ultra Frigid strip in the vicinity of Deer Park, and because the lake water in the amounts they were demanding was denied. The very life of Deer Lake was at stake, well a lot of easterners lost their shirt in the venture, but Deer Lake survived. One may still see an occasional survivor of the orchard along Hwy 395 toward Deer Park.
MANY CHANGES
Up until WWII for example, the south side of the lake was virtually unpopulated except for a colony of beaver who had a big house right in the middle of what was then Mackinaw Bay. Bass fishermen cruising the darkened shoreline would nearly always be greeted with that resounding "WHACK" of a startled beaver.
Deer Lake has always prided itself on the clearest, sweetest water this side of heaven. Bright clean beaches, rocks and snags visible at forty feet depth. One could kneel down and drink anywhere along the shore.
Alas, this is not true anymore: not entirely anyway, and each property owner has an absolute responsibility to himself and to his neighbors to do everything necessary to insure the potability does not deteriorate further. Each user of lake water for household use should be alert to the fact that there may be contamination, and that the water should be boiled to treated before using.
"Resorts" on the lake had their hey day from about WWI to WWII. Oldtimers too will remember with nostalgia such fishing spots as the "Snag" the "A" and others. There are many still around the lake who remember when.
(THE LAKES ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE FIRST DLPOA NEWSLETTER IN 1974)
EMERGENCY SERVICES By Gerry Block
This past winter has been way too mild! I have watched the snow levels for the ski resorts, looks good. Here is SCFD#1. We didn't fare as well, and we need a lot of rain. The fire district is already responding to fires that normally occur later in the season. This could be a very dry spring and summer. Our wildland fire crews are preparing for some very busy months and we need everyone to be extremely careful.
The roadway signage has been taken over by the "Friends of Clayton". Howard Richards, of SCFD#1, Station 1 in Clayton, is the chairman. I have the forms, and if you desire to purchase a sign, please let me know. My home phone is 233-8245. The cost is $15.00. One side of the sign is blue and the other green. The numbers and colors indicate to the responding crews if the incident is further down the road or that they have traveled too far. The larger signs can show several addresses, which is ideal for some of the bay areas and homeowner's associations.
When making a "911" call, please describe the incident location as clearly as possible. We have several new district members responding to calls and they have no idea where our traditional lake landmarks are located. "The Narrows" is well known, but some of our old neighborhood names are not on the district maps. For those of you that have your own personal scanners and hear that a crew has been misdirected, please call 911 and clarify the location of the incident. The response time is critical! I want to thank everyone that has already assisted the district. Binoculars are a wonderful asset, as long as one knows the reportable area. Please, do not tie up the control center with non-essential guess work. "Control" handles hundreds of calls each day. Get your facts straight, report what you actually see, and maintain a calmness about yourself. If need be, write down the actual follow-up information before calling 911.
By the time you read this newsletter, SCFD#1 will have a Chief. Congratulations to whomever! May DLPOA continue to have a strong relationship with SCFD#1.
GRANT AWARDED FOR FREE SMOKE ALARMS By Lt. Russell Armstrong, Fire Prevention Officer
Stevens County Fire District #1 has once again been selected as one of ten communities that will receive up to 300 lithium battery powered smoke alarms and $2000.00 in funds to implement a Fire Safe Families Project. This project is intended to prevent fire-related injuries and deaths through distribution and installation of smoke alarms in homes that do not have adequate smoke alarm coverage.
Fire and burns are one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States. There were 70 fire related deaths in Washington State in 2002. Of these 16 were children. Smoking continues to be the leading cause of fire-related deaths in Washington State, followed by home heating and children with access to lighters or matches. A working smoke alarm significantly reduces your risk of death or injury in fire. Of the 70 fatal fires in Washington last year, 53% occurs in the homes without a working smoke alarm.
The district will be taking applications for the free smoke alarms. To apply, contact: Stevens County Fire District No 1 at 262-9660 M-F 8:30-5:00 PM.
Fire Department Personnel and volunteers will install the alarms. During the installation, they will offer fire prevention tips and help homeowners and residents with fire escape plans. Prevention is the best wav to keep your family and your home safe from fire.
FISHERIES By Jim Santora
The winter batch of fish has been very good with a low mortality rate, and I will be releasing them around the fifteenth of the month. They are between six and nine inches new. I will receive my summer batch .of fish at the end of the month. I will be getting Triploids again for the summer batch. Let's hope 2004 is a great fishing year for all of us.
SILVER FISH PEN PROJECT By Bruce Wm. Hughes
If you haven't heard by now, the N.E. Wildlife Management Group in Cooperation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, have started a silver net pen project here at Deer Lake. The goal of this project is to reestablish the silver population. We are presently operating 2 pens in 40 feet of water. We started with 12,500 silvers in one pen and 12,600 rainbows in the other. The rainbows are doing fine with no problems. At the beginning we had a string of problems with the silver net, but made it over the hurdle. The pen is presently holding 9,000+/- healthy silvers headed for release in mid to late May in the 5" to 6" size range. Since they are a migratory fish we will move the net pen out to deep water for release. This should give them a better survival rate by allowing them to disperse quicker by heading for deep water.
Two questions that continue to come up are, will it work and what's happened to the silvers that were in the lake? I spoke with Corey Morrison with the Spokane Fish Hatchery in regards to the first question and he felt it's way too early to decide if it will be a success or failure. It may take up to 4 or 5 years to see if the silver population has been re-established. The Wild Life Group hopes to continue this project well past that. If all goes well we will be allotted enough silvers next year for both pens, which works out to 25,OOO silvers +/-. Corey also informed me that the WDFW plan on increasing the allotment of silvers they release in May to 50,000 to 100,000.
As far as what's happened to the silvers that were in the lake, here is the input I've gotten
Spokesman-Review, Feb 2, 2004: Biologists see surprises through "window" (www. spokesman-review. com, click on archives)
Columbia Kootenay Fisheries Renewal Partnership (www.ckfrp.comlprojects/1999/pp4.htm)
Kokanee- The Redfish (www.ariverneversleeps.com/online/reviews.shtml)
If you have any questions regarding the silver pen project or cannot find the above mentioned articles, feel free to contact me at anytime, 233-3010.
DLPOA FIRE WOOD CUTTERS Virgil Sanderfer.
We should start cutting in a month or two. Last year the permit was good till the end of December. The fee went up to $10.00 for all the wood you want to cut. You pay me at the gate the first time you go in,. and your OLPOA dues must be paid also. I can also collect them at the gate. For info, call me at 233-9178.
ROAD SAFETY By Larry Hersom
The snow has disappeared, the roads are drying out and once again the hint of warmer weather foretells the beginning of a promising spring and another great summer at Deer Lake.
Once again, the Stevens County Road Department has done a great job in keeping our winter roads open and in good repair. With the coming of nicer weather also comes an increase in the traffic volumes around the lake and the opportunity for safety problems to occur.
To give you an idea of the early summer traffic volumes on the three main roads around the lake, Stevens County public Works provided the following traffic volume count information:
The above volumes counts were taken during a three day period, mid-week, mid June of 2003. Volumes during the peak of summer, and on weekends would be considerably more.
As in the past, the Stevens County Sheriffs Office has promised both a presence and more concrete reminders for those who would ignore or disregard the "rules of the road". But ultimately it is the driving decision making and attitude of each one of us that will determine the real safety of the roads around our beautiful lake. Have an awesome and safe summer!
MEMBERSHIP By Dean Crump
This year is DLPOA's 30th anniversary!!
We appreciate those of you who have paid your annual dues of $15.00. Membership in DLPOA is very important, it helps maintain our beautiful lake and area. Don't forget to tell your neighbors about DLPOA and urge them to become members too. We invite you to attend our board meetings anytime. They are the second Thursday of each month, September through May.
There has been an interest in developing a history of Deer Lake and the surrounding area. Many residents and owners have lived on or near the lake for years and we would like to hear from them with letters, pictures or whatever, to share their knowledge and experiences. We would like to share these "remembrances" in the DLPOA Newsletter and possibly in the form of a booklet that tells the history of one of the most beautiful places in the country. Should you have pictures of "years gone by" let us get copies made and the originals will be returned to you. Please let us hear from you if you are interested in participating in this project or know someone that would like to share their experience at Deer Lake.
LAKE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT By Lee Bayley
In 2001 your Board of Directors researched the feasibility of forming a Lake Management District (LMD), as a means to properly fund the district through a tax assessment of property around Deer Lake. The LMD would have well defined boundaries for taxing and spending authority. The sole purpose would be for the eradication and future prevention of milfoil. Since this noxious sea week, once started, quickly grows in the bays smothering out the aquatic life, degrades water quality, destroys fishing and thus reduces property values, we as DLPOA members and property owners will need to act quickly. This weed is now evident in Loon Lake, Eloika Lake, the Pend Orielle River and other bodies of water, and is easily transported by water fowl and mostly by transient boat trailers. It behooves us to again make plans for the possibility that it will be found in Deer Lake. We can copy Loon Lake who formed their LMD to raise money to control milfoil, and who are willing to guide us in the formation process.
This is a "heads up" to you, our members, that your Board considers this potential problem worthy of our renewed research into LMD. We will begin anew this gathering and reporting of knowledge to you, through future newsletters, to raise your awareness of our progress for the time your approval will be called upon. We would encourage your volunteering to become involved as a small committee to assist us in our research and probable LMD formation. Please contact me if you are interested 326-0954. Thanks.
DLPOA PATROL BOAT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!
We are in the final stages of getting the patrol boat ready to launch for the 2004 season, beginning in May and we need your help in operating the boat. Great benefits:
If you are interested in keeping our lake safe during the busy season, contact Pete Clark at 233-8000 or email pconlake1@yahoo.com for complete details.
BEAR PROBLEMS
We have been asked by Pam Taylor of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to reprint the information on how to avoid bear problems.
Black Bears are not normally aggressive animals, so attacks on humans are rare. As bear numbers increase and more bear habitat disappears, however, the greater the chances are of encountering a bear. Bears will usually avoid people, but their size, strength and surprising speed make them a potential danger. Most confrontations with bears are a result of surprise encounters at close range, so take precautions to avoid startling a bear. Remember, because of their keen sense of smell, black bears are attracted-to food and odors. You can reduce a bear conflict by taking these precautions:
Black bears tend to avoid humans, but should you come in contact with one, here are some tips. Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact which could elicit a charge. Because bears are near-sighted, if one has not caught your scent, it could mistake you for prey. Try to stay upwind and identify yourself as a human by standing up, waving your hands above your head and talking. The bear will probably leave you alone.
If you have cleaned up your garbage, and have taken reasonable measures to deter bears from frequenting your location and are still having problems, contact the Wash. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife for assistance at 509/456-4082.
FOURTH OF JULY By Larry Nokes
With the Fourth of July falling on a Sunday this year, we have decided to stretch our celebration to two days. On Saturday, July 3rd, we will have our third annual parade starting at the Deer lake Resort and ending at West Bay Resort. It will start at 10:00 AM and end with hotdogs, cookies, chips and prizes. Plan on bringing the kids to join in the fun.
The boat parade and fireworks will be on the 4th with the boat parade starting at 7:30 P.M. in front of Deer lake Resort. Decorate (or not) your boat and join the festivities. The grand fireworks display will begin at dark (around 9:30) with a bigger and better display than ever. Tell all of your friends to come up to watch.
DOCK DEMO DAYS by Larry Nokes
Our third attempt to rid the lake of the "Dreaded Derelict Dock Disease" will take place on June 19th beginning around 9:00 AM at the Gardner Acres boat ramp on the west side just south of the Deer lake Resort. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Young, strong backs will be a great -help!! Your dock will be demolished for $2.00/L.F. and abandoned docks will be disposed of for no charge. The job is hard but it's fun to dig in with others to help in this cleanup effort. Bring your crow bars, hammers, wrenches and chain saws and help clean up the lake on June 19th
WDFW PUBLIC ACCESS AREA
Please remember that you must have a current User Permit displayed on your vehicle when launching your boat at the Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife Public Access. The permits are free with the purchase of fishing licenses and can be purchased individually also. The fine for not having one is $66.00 and will be enforced.
GERALDINE "JERRY" BRINKMAN 1939-2004
An unfortunate event happened on March 4, 2004. Jerry Brinkman, age 65, died suddenly without warning. Her death was caused by a blood clot that traveled to her lungs. Emergency room treatment could not save her. Jerry left behind her husband Ken, two children and four grandchildren.
Ken and Jerry first purchased property on Deer Lake in 1972. They lived for a number of years at their lake home before moving into Deer Park in 2001. During the past 30 years, Jerry was an active volunteer, serving DLPOA for many years as treasurer. She was a volunteer fireman at the Deer Lake fire station for over 10 years and was a certified EMT. She was past treasurer of the Loon Lake Association, volunteered with the Loon Lake Historical Society and the Loon Lake food bank. She was a member of St Mary's Catholic Church and also their Altar Society. She volunteered at the Deer Park Senior Center and was past president of the Spokane Woman's Accounting Association.
Along with sharing her life as a volunteer, Jerry worked full time as a receptionist and a bookkeeper. She worked 16 years for the Public Utility District #1, Stevens County, Loon Lake. You would also remember her for handing out tshirts after the annual Loons Day walk or filling glasses of orange juice at the annual Deer Lake pancake breakfast.
Her absence will be missed in the Deer Lake community for her personal service to all of us. Jerry was a super example of the saying, "Get Involved-8tay Involved".
Jerry, your smiling face and willingness to be of service to your community should inspire all of us. Deer Lake Property Owners Association and the DLPOA Board of Directors say "thank you and jobs well done". Our hearts go out to Ken and her family for their loss.
Lee Bayley