November 1992
President's Report by Jerry McBride
Here we are, simmer is over and fall is here. I imagine a lot of you have already closed up your place for the winter. For those of us still going to the lake or that live there it is unbelievably quiet! What a contrast from the summer months on the weekends when everyone seems to be doing something on the lake or in the hills above it.
The sewer and water systems are in and nearly everyone has been connected. What an accomplishment! It took us about 15 years to put the project together and 2 years to actually do it. Thank you PUD and Centerline Construction. You have done a great job.
Our first board of director's meeting was held in September and it was a good one. The new people on the board are already making a contribution with their ideas and enthusiasm. We will be looking at new projects to undertake now that the sewer and water projects are winding down. Some ideas being considered are: how to reduce the effect of cattle at the north end of the lake, the possibilities of paving roads around the lake, what can be done about storm water runoff into the lake, and several others. Of course, we are continuing to be involved in planning and zoning ordinances for Deer Lake and the entire county.
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Assessment on Sewer to be Calculated this Winter by Ivy Shaw
The sewer construction is nearly completed. There is still some cleanup to be done and a few septic tanks yet to be finished. More grass seed will be planted after we get some rain. To date the project is still within budget.
The work on the water system is done except for some minor loose ends. Because more people signed up for the water project, there is extra money left in the budget. Since it was decided before the project started that additional fire hydrants would be installed if possible, 15 additional fire hydrants (making a total of 36) are now being installed around the lake.
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Shoreline Report by Lila Howe
The Shoreline Advisory Committee (volunteer citizens) and the Planning Dept (county employees) could not come to agreement on a Shoreline Management Plan. In fact, half of the committee members have asked that their names be removed from the plan. Thus the plan that was forwarded to the Planning Commission (appointed volunteers) was not the recommendation of the Shoreline Advisory Committee.
The Planning Commission then listened to extensive input from the public regarding their desires and concerns. As a result of these inputs, the Planning Commission recommended 38 changes to the County Commissioners.
The County Commissioners agreed to only one of the 38 changes. The plan has now been forwarded to the DOE for final approval.
Local control was the overwhelming concern of the advisory committee and citizen inputs. As it is written, variances to plan requirements will require approval from the DOE in Olympia dn if they do not grant the variance, appeals must be heard in Thurston County.
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Proposed Zoning Ordinance by Ed Deeble
We have received a draft copy, dated Sept 1 1992, of the official Zoning Ordinance for Stevens County. This draft establishes the following districts:
The Urban Residential district has three different densities for a minimum lot size depending on availability of public sewer and water. The draft does not seem to deal with keyhole developments. Most of the requirements for property located within 200 feet of the high watermark are included in the Stevens County Shoreline Management Plan.
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Water Quality Report by Wes Wagoner
I have been testing the water quality of Deer Lake once a month starting in April I took my last readings in October. Overall the lake is doing very well. Even with our dry, hot summer the algae bloom was very minimal. I think the sewer system was a contributing factor and we will see similar improvements in the next few years.
We test the lake for clarity, acidity level and oxygen content among other things. The best clarity reading we got was 26 feet - the worst was 22 feet in late June. The oxygen content went from 8.2% near the surface to 0.024% at 66 feet.
How many of you have heard the statement "the lake just rolled over" and wondered what it meant? During most of he year there is a defined break in the water temperature at a given depth. This is called the thermocline. Water circulates above and below the thermocline but does not mix (warm water does not go down and cold water doesn't come up). However, twice a year, spring and fall, the thermocline disappears (water temperature is relatively constant from top to bottom) allowing the entire lake fvolue to mix and circulate - Voila! The statement "the lake just rolled over".
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Emergency Services by Jerry Linton and Lew Houdak
The Deer Lake Fire Department has received a new vehicle that will replace our "Big Red" fire truck and our old EMS unit. The new unit has both firefighting and EMS capabilities and will be a big improvement for our station.
The new vehicle is not in service yet but with a little luck we can have the paperwork completed by the first of November. The Loon Lake FD has also been loaned a truck with an 18" disc plow that can be used to cut fire lines around grass and brush fires.
Our fire dept responded to two water related accidents on the lake this past summer. One involved a skier trying to spray people on a dock and ended up hitting the dock. This person was evacuated by helicopter.
The other accident involved a young boy body surfing behind a boat and being pulled under the surface of the lake. In responding to this incident, a fireman was injured while carrying the injured boy across a dock. The dock gave way under the combined weight causing the firemen to twist his knee.
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Road Maintenance by Dick Shepard
Road conditions around the lake are better than they have been in several years. This is due in large part to the reconstruction required by the sewer project.
North Deer Lake Road has a new blacktop surface that should last several years. Southwood shores road is wider in some spots and this will hopefully make it safer to travel.
East Deer Lake road from Julius Terrace north has been widened, ditched, and had a culvert installed. There is still some more ditching to do at the north end of this road.
The county refurbished East Deer Lake road from Julius Terrace to the Garden Spot intersection. This project, which was part of the seven year maintenance cycle, cost $38,845 and included cleaning ditches, cutting back brush and sealing and gravelling the road.
Probably the most important road improvement has just been completed by the county at the intersection of the East Deer Lake and Garden Spot roads. They created a 90 degree stop for East Deer Lake road. This should make this dangerous corner much safer.
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Water Safety by Virgil Gering
We had a relative safe summer this year with no major boating accidents. Much of the credit belongs to Doyle Knight, our volunteer water deputy.
Doyle logged a total of 63 hours in our "DARE" boat. He wrote 26 warning tickets and handed out 30 ski flags to boaters who did not have them. One of the problems Doyle continually encountered was people fishing after sunset without a light.
The "DARE" boat was purchased several years ago by DLPOA and is used by the Sheriff's Dept to patrol Deer Lake. The Sheriff's Dept in turn pays for maintenance on the boat and supervises the volunteer deputy.
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Fish Stores by Ray Johnson and Dick Shepard
Troutlodge Inc, a Washington registered aquatic farm, is the world's largest producer and supplier of trout eggs. They produce over 250 million eggs each year and sell to 25 countries and 30 states.
In early 1992, rep Bob Morton discovered that Troutlodge had 70,000 rainbow trout that wer produced in surplus of normal hatchery operations. He contacted the Dept of Wildlife on behalf of Troutlodge and encouraged the private donation of these fish to stock lakes in his district.
To make a long story short, Deer Lake was the recipient of 50,000 of those Kamloop rainbow trout.
On Sept 12, Jim Santora released approximately 4500 7-9" fish. State biologists tagged 125 of these for tracking purposes. The pen was then pulled from the lake, cleaned and returned to the lake. Two weeks later the Game Dept put 15,400 fish in the pen. These were larger than the fish we received last winter so we are expecting great things in the spring (this year's spring release averaged 10").
Additionally, Jim has purchased an automatic feeder which should improve the feeding program. It feeds for three seconds every four hours and only needs to be filled every five days. DLPOA contributes funds for the purchase of fish food.