November 1988
President's Report by Lee Bayley
1988 has been a year of happenings which the board and members of DLPOA have long been hoping for. Since 1975 your board has been concerned with the quality of the lake water and the surrounding environment. During the following years repeated attempts to sewer the lake were made. 1988 saw our efforts succeed.
In August, 1988 petitions were presented by DLPOA to the Stevens County PUD requesting construction of a Deer Lake Sewer System. This sewer project is now on schedule, as was reported to DLPOA at its November 9 1988 board meeting. Of course, it is early in the final engineering state, but construction will begin next spring at the north entrance to the lake and continue in both directions until sewer pipes meet at Julius Terrace. More about the sewer update is include elsewhere in this newsletter.
On November 8, 1988 the Stevens County Planning Commission accepted the Deer Lake Planning District Zoning Ordinance. Public hearings on it will be scheduled soon. Hopefully, the zoning ordinance will be passed. Dr Ted Maxson was the principal leader and author of this ordinance. DLPOA owes Ted much gratitude for all the time and energy spent during the last seven years on the formulation of this ordinance. When it becomes law we should then see development occurring in an orderly and beneficial fashion.
Some of you have expressed over the year hope that DLPOA would develop a guide of DOS's and DON'Ts for improvements to your property. You can now start with the comprehensive plan, but Virgil Gering is assembling an additional list for your consideration.
Wintertime is particularly important at Deer Lake. There is little activity around the lake as compared to summertime. As property owners, we may get complacent and assume all is secure after winterizing our houses. However, this fall I have heard of seven acts of vandalism and brean-ins around the lake. Please ask your neighbors to be on the alert for your benefit. Take all precautions possible to prevent a break-in. It pays to always be prepared.
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Water Quality Report by Jerry McBride
Deer Lake is going to have a sewer system installed around it over the next two years! What an accomplishment by many, many people!
A sewer system has been the #1 goal of DLPOA for about fifteen years. There have been many ups and downs during these years and literally, hundreds of meetings.
Hopefully, installation of the sewer system will break the cycle of algae blooms the lake has had for the past two summers. It has been our concern that pollution of the lake would go beyond a point where more drastic measures, like those used on Liberty Lake, would be needed. Let's hope that Deer Lake hasn't reached this point.
The Stevens County PUD commissioners have sent out a series of letters to let Deer Lake property owners know what their plans are for the sewer and what will be required of the property owners for the engineering and installation of the system. Be sure you make arrangements for an on-site meeting with PUD inspectors to determine final details of pipe installation and tank location on your property.
Although PUD has formally assumed construction of the Deer Lake sewer project, DLPOA will continue to play an active role. Leila Howe, a DLPOA board member, has attended almost all the PUD commission meetings in order to monitor the progress o f the sewar project and help out in any way possible.
Septic tanks are not the only source of pollution to the lake. We need to educate ourselves on what other sources are and to work to eliminate, or at least reduce them. In upcoming newsletters we will point out some other sources of lake pollution and what can be done about reducing them.
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Emergency Services By Jerry Linton
Deer Lake Fire Station.
There was mention in the June 1988 newsletter that ground breaking for the addition to the fire station could be any time. At that time ground breaking had started and construction is now well under way. The exterior has been completed with metal siding and roof. Much work has been done on the interior too: wiring, insulation, installation of door and windows, etc. Work will begin soon on installation of the electric heating system. All this is progressing steadily due to the aggressive help of all the members of the Deer Lake Fire Department and many board members of DLPOA who have volunteered to help.
We should all be proud of the DLFD personnel. They have spent many hours working on the fire station addition besides volunteering their time and labor to be active fire fighters, responding to emergency calls as firemen and emergency medical technicians. Let us be grateful that we have these dedicated neighbors to help us out in times of need.
Loon Lake Fire Department
Four people from the Loon Lake fire department drove two new fire trucks to their area recently from the east. One truck went to the Loon Lake fire station and the other to the Tum Tum fire station. Fire personnel have learned how to operate the various components of the new trucks and are certainly enjoying using them.
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1988-1989 Officers
President: Lee Bayley; VP: Jerry McBride; Secretary: Barbara Reed; Treasurer: Kathryn Bean.
Board Members: Charles Barker, Clyde Innes, Inga Lord, Bruce Gage, Jerry Linton, Howard Wohrle, Chuck Phelan, Lew Houdak, LeRoy Johnson, Wes Wagoner, Virgil Gering.
Executive Advisory board: Ted Maxson, Ed Sweet, Les Schneider, Quetta Collin, Bill Paton, Clari Jones, Ben Rasley.