Membership By Jerry Brinkman

Loads of thanks to all of the members who have paid their dues. Remember it is not too late to pay your dues ($12/year). We are the biggest lake Association in the state of Washington, and as such we wield quite a bit of power. A great many things have been done for the benefit of Deer Lake with the money generated from dues. The land in the narrows was purchased to keep a buffer zone between the cattle and the lake. Tests are done to make sure the lake keeps its purity, and also checks for Milfoil are paid for from DLPOA funds. We have two fish pens on Deer Lake which are manned by volunteers, but food and supplies are furnished by DLPOA. This year we were fortunate to have $1,000 donated to us from the Loonsday walk to help pay for fish food. Loons need fish to survive, so we help to feed them also. Many thanks to the Loon Lake Loon Association for this generous donation.

If you have any questions about dues or membership in the Association, you are more than welcome to call me at 276-9856.

Transportation Committee by Teresa Waunch

Last January, DLPOA set five transportation goals. They were as follows:

1. 3/4 mile of East Deer Lake Road to receive a subbase/base under Gravel Roads Program funding. Work is contingent on Don Newhall’s community group and county engineers determining culvert location, and County Waivers to be returned for right-of-way approval.
2. * 0.2 miles of East Deer Lake Road (from mailboxes to platform at base of hill) requested by county maintenance.
3. Southwood Shores Road to receive subbase/base.
4. * North Deer Lake Road to receive snow plowing.
5. * Cedar, Pine, and Tamarack bays to receive sand at turnouts in the fall to use for winter maintenance.

Of the five goals three (the ones with the asterisks) were completed. Goal II was largely a credit to John Millhorn and commissioner Fran Bessermin. The county has decided to resume responsibility of this for maintenance purposes but it will be reviewed annually. Goal IV was permitted to continue since school busses had come dangerously close to plunging into the lake on slippery roads. Goal V is a new service provided by the county to provide sand for local resident dispersement.

We will continue working on Goals I and III. Also the Julius Terrace work is at a standstill while the association gathers more information. The discussion at the spring meeting was received. When their decisions are made the county will complete the work.

We have also requested that the county provide us with a master transportation plan to aid in funding many of our basic transportation needs. This will also provide funding for Loon Lake and Waitt’s Lake. Jerry Bryant, our county engineer, is accepting another county job with Pierce county. We wish him well in his new and promising career and look forward to a good working relationship with our new county engineer Jim Whitbread.

We appreciate everyone’s effort to work together in resolving transportation issues. Good and safe infrastructure is a benefit to us all.

Road Cleanup

The semi annual road cleanup and Chilli Feed was held September 25^th. About 20 people turned out to help, or at least to eat. We understand that we collected almost half a ton of gharbage from both sides of the lake. There will be another such festivity next Spring. Watch for a postcard coming to your mailbox then.

Water Quality Committee By Mike Phillips

The last two years we have been doing some basic water quality tests. We have gone out twice a year to collect data, and Keith VanEtten with the Loon Lake sewer district has done the tests and compiled them.

This year the Department of Ecology set up some tests for Deer Lake. They are doing four tests, one each month through the summer. I have been going out on the lake with the technician. I also go out between each of his tests. I take temperature, pH, Secci Disk readings and observe the boating activity. We also look for bird life and weed types.

There are questionnaires available to anyone that would like to fill one out. They give the D.O.E an idea of what the public thinks of the water quality of our lake. Anyone wishing to fill out a form may call me at 233-2510 and I will get one to you.

One subject came up in conversations with both the D.O.E. and the Dept. of Natural Resources. This had to do with burning on the beaches. They both said it is not good for our water quality. If you do burn on the beach, please remove the ash away from the beach. We would not like to contribute to the contamination of Deer Lake.

So far we have not seen any Eurasian Milfoil. Please continue to clean boats and trailers that have gone to other lakes.

Have you noticed as you drive around the lake, how much greener everything is compared to this time last year? In a way it’s kind of nice, but it is also kind of scary. What many of you view as beautiful scenery, we firefighters view as fuel. The Deer Lake area has many homes built in secluded areas with limited access. This along with narrow roads will make evacuation in time of an emergency a nightmare.

Please take a moment to look around your community and talk to your neighbors about what you should do in case a wildland fire should threaten your community. Ask if there are any special needs people in your area, such as people with wheelchairs, or on oxygen, and find out what you can do to help them in time of needs.

Members of Stevens County Fire District #1 have been hiking the trails around the lake trying to get a plan together in case of an emergency. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas that may help, please send them to DLPOA or Stevens County Fire District #$1, Attn Captain Allison, PO Box 28, Loon Lake, Wa 99148. Thank You.

This newsletter looks different than previous ones, because we have a new newsletter editor. Pete Clark, who has done this job for several years, decided that it was time to do something different.

I would like to take some space to urge everyone to come to next year’s annual meeting. There will be a newsletter in the spring detailing when and where it will be. But there is a lot of information that one can get at these meetings, about our lake, about doing lake stuff. I have gone to every such meeting for the six years I have had a place on the lake, and have learned something really neat every time. And there is free food afterwards, too. However, if you are not quick enough, you too might be the next newsletter editor or fish pen volunteer.

Flood Control